This is the big question of the moment: will Rafael Nadal play one last time at Roland-Garros?
Manhandled by a physique that does as it pleases, the Mallorcan has not played much this season (11 matches, for 7 victories and 4 defeats). If the choice has not yet been made, the Spaniard confirmed that he was closer to participation than to withdrawal from the table.
After three tournaments played on clay, Nadal is still quite far from his best level. Very average in Barcelona (1 victory, 1 defeat), he found color in Madrid (3 victories, 1 defeat) before achieving much less convincing performances in Rome (1 victory, 1 defeat). If he is still not playing at his best level, the physical intensity that the Spaniard is capable of producing seems to be increasing, especially in training. Now, the time has come for the Manacor bull to reproduce this type of performance in a match.
In an interview with our colleagues from Francetv, ‘Rafa’ believes in his chances of participation but warns that he only wants to play if he feels capable of playing 100%: “I don’t want to enter the court in knowing I have no options. If there is a slight possibility of winning, I want to try it, I want to try. But if there’s really no chance, no, I’d rather not. […] If I can’t play, it will be very hard, that’s for sure. But personally, with all the emotions I experienced there, I think it would be even harder for me to play without being competitive. I don’t want to feel at Roland Garros like I felt in Madrid or Barcelona, without being able to really fight.”
Asked what he expected by “being competitive”, he explains: “I believe that being competitive for Roland‐Garros means going to play the tournament being at 100% and if at 100% that is not is not enough to win a single match, so we will have to accept it. But I don’t see myself walking onto the court knowing I have no options. If there is 0.01 possibility, I want to try it, I want to try. But if there is really no chance, no, I prefer to stay with my memories”
The equation is therefore simple for the Majorcan: either he will feel able to perform and he will play or he will not play. So, if he plays we can expect a fairly high level of play. Since he will not be seeded, his presence could have some crazy matches in store for us in the first week.
2024-05-13 13:59:19
#slight #possibility #winning
