Rafael Nadal will bring down the curtain on his 19-year French Open career with the likelihood of adding to his 14 titles before his decline.he leaves behind a record and reputation unlikely ever to be matched.
The great Spaniard, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, won his first title at Roland Garros as a teenager in 2005. on Monday, he will celebrate his 38th birthday.
A former world number one, who is now at 276 in the world, Nadal has only played 15 matches since January last year as a hip injury and then a muscle tear were added to a depressing history of physical ailments which have forced him to miss 12 Grand Slam tournaments in his career.
Whether or not the 2024 French Open becomes number 13 will soon become apparent as the draw for the event takes place on Thursday afternoon.
“I’m going to play the tournament thinking that I can give my all, 100 per cent,” explained Nadal after a second round exit in Rome last week.
“And if 100 per cent is not enough to win a match, I’ll accept that. But I don’t want to step in court knowing that I have no chance. If there’s a 0.01% chance, I want to explore that and give it a go.”
Nadal can has a record of 112 wins as well as 14 titles in Paris and just three losses, two of which came against career-long rival Novak Djokovic.He is also held in remarkably high esteem.
At his first training session on Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros on Monday an estimated 6,000 people turned up to watch, many chanting his name.
“We have to enjoy the time he has left on court, evaluate it, and be aware that it’s very unlikely that something like that will happen again,” said coach Carlos Moya during the recent Madrid Open.
“Personally, I’m never on court when he enters or leaves, but I am this year because I like seeing the love he gets from the people when he steps on court.
“He’s one of the great stars of this sport, he’s about to retire, and it’s really amazing to see that.”
