Nadal: ‘This could be my last Roland Garros’

“If it weren’t for the team and family, I would have retired for sure.” Nadal speaking at the Roland Garros award ceremony on the afternoon of June 5. “I don’t know if this will be the last Roland Garros of my career. From the match against Auger-Aliassime, I told myself every match could be the last. For me, Roland Garros is the best tennis tournament in the world. . I feel at home when I play here.”

Nadal easy win 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the final when Casper Ruud was completely inferior in class. The Spaniard won his 14th title at the Paris clay court, raising his Grand Slam record to 22 – more Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic two titles. For the first time, Nadal won Roland Garros without being crowned in the warm-up tournaments in the clay season. This is also the first time the 36-year-old has won both the Australian Open and Roland Garros in the same year. Nadal’s achievements are considered extraordinary, when he always comes back strong after serious injuries.

“I’m not going to continue playing with a loss of sensation in my feet,” Nadal told a news conference after the final. “I want to prolong my career but there has to be another solution. I will talk to the doctors about this. They can do radiofrequency treatment and hopefully that will help with the pain. Here, the doctor injected medicine into the nerve of the foot, which helped me feel no pain but also no feeling. You have to accept the consequences of this.”

Nadal suffered a rib injury, then relapsed foot injury chronic in the past three months. He previously took a break for the last four months of 2021 to treat a foot injury. He has won four titles this season, including two Grand Slams, to lead the race for tickets to the ATP Finals. Nadal also climbed to fourth in the ATP, thanks to 2,000 points at Roland Garros.

Nadal could be Wimbledon number two seed, if Alexander Zverev unable to recover from the injury in time, also Daniil Medvedev not attend. But, “King of Clay” alludes to the possibility of giving up this year’s grass-court Grand Slam. “I wouldn’t be going to Wimbledon if I had to have injections,” he said. “If the upcoming treatment doesn’t work, I have to be ready for an operation. The surgery doesn’t guarantee I’ll be back competing at the highest level and I’m not sure I’ll be able to compete again at the top level,” he said. It takes a long time to recover. Nothing is certain after surgery. So I have to make my own decisions.”

Vy Anh (follow Marca)