Victorious in his first round in Rome this Thursday, Rafael Nadal dares to plan towards Roland-Garros. While confiding his apprehensions.
It was laborious, but Rafael Nadal overcame the Belgian Zizou Bergs this Thursday in the first round of the Rome tournament (4-6, 6-3, 6-4). At the end of the game, the Majorcan presented himself to the press to take stock of his last three weeks on the circuit. With positives, of course, but also the admission of his deep fears. Like a lock to be broken between now and the French Open.
« The biggest improvement is that I continue to play. This is the most important thingwhispers the 37-year-old Spaniard, relayed by L’Equipe. Besides that, I serve much better than in Barcelona. I also feel like I’m faster. Sometimes I play too far from the baseline. This is something I need to improve on. I need to organize my position on the pitch a little better than I did today… »
“It’s time to push”
This observation made, Rafael Nadal knows that he will have to push the machine even more, to its ultimate limits if possible while Roland-Garros is fast approaching (from May 26 to June 9). “ If something happens, something happens. I have Roland Garros in only two and a half weeks, so… There comes a time when I have to prove to myself that I am capable of pushing my body to the limit necessary to feel ready for what is coming. […] I need to lose this fear. Matches like today help me. At times I moved faster, at other times I didn’t. I have to get used to this, take this risk. If something bad happens, we will accept it. But now is the time to push. I feel more ready to try than before. »
« I have to try to play 100%, he insists. I have to release a little fear that I have on certain shots. In Brisbane (in January, editor’s note), I had a tear where I had surgery last year. With this surgery, a significant portion of my psoas tendon had to be removed and I now have to work a lot of the muscles around it much more than before. You have to adapt these muscles to this new configuration, find the right time for that, but I don’t really have that time. This is the problem. »
2024-05-09 20:27:00
#Nadal #touching #confession #RolandGarros
