PARIS: Rafael Nadal returned the love to Court Philippe-Chatrier, where the packed house chanted ‘Rafa, Rafa, Rafa’ for three-hours of his Roland Garros first-round match, as if to remind their 14-time champion of who he was.
A stirring love song that echoed across the grounds well after that final forehand landed long.
“The feelings you make me feel here are just unforgettable,” Nadal told the stands, where everyone, including fellow pros Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, stood.“Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart; I hope to see you again, but I don’t know.”
Nadal, tennis’ 22-time major winner, went down 3-6, 6-7 (5), 3-6 to the fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev on a wet, cold day in Paris. To be sure Nadal had his chances, 11 opportunities to break the German’s serve in the match.
Nadal will return to Roland Garros in a couple of months to play the Olympics, but he was unsure of his plans thereafter. The door is ajar.
“I still have some goals,” Nadal said. “I hope to be back on this court at the Olympics.”
Nadal, playing in a pastel blue-green tee, said he was getting better, felt better with every passing day, leading into Roland Garros.
“At the end, I was ready to build my game and my confidence day by day, but I never had those days of competition, because I faced a very tough opponent. Probably today I needed him not playing a great match,” Nadal said. “I played at a good level in all ways, comparing to the way that I was playing the weeks before.”
“Of course, disappointed for losing, but in terms of (how my) body is feeling, happy that I finished healthy, I had a tough battle out there. And I was ready for a little bit more,” the 37-year-old said.
“If it’s the last time that I played here, I’m at peace with myself,” Nadal said, smiling. “I tried everything to be ready for this tournament. The last two years, I have been working and going through probably the toughest process in my tennis career with the dream to come back here. At least I did. I lost, but that’s part of the business.
A stirring love song that echoed across the grounds well after that final forehand landed long.
“The feelings you make me feel here are just unforgettable,” Nadal told the stands, where everyone, including fellow pros Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, stood.“Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart; I hope to see you again, but I don’t know.”
Nadal, tennis’ 22-time major winner, went down 3-6, 6-7 (5), 3-6 to the fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev on a wet, cold day in Paris. To be sure Nadal had his chances, 11 opportunities to break the German’s serve in the match.
Nadal will return to Roland Garros in a couple of months to play the Olympics, but he was unsure of his plans thereafter. The door is ajar.
“I still have some goals,” Nadal said. “I hope to be back on this court at the Olympics.”
Nadal, playing in a pastel blue-green tee, said he was getting better, felt better with every passing day, leading into Roland Garros.
“At the end, I was ready to build my game and my confidence day by day, but I never had those days of competition, because I faced a very tough opponent. Probably today I needed him not playing a great match,” Nadal said. “I played at a good level in all ways, comparing to the way that I was playing the weeks before.”
“Of course, disappointed for losing, but in terms of (how my) body is feeling, happy that I finished healthy, I had a tough battle out there. And I was ready for a little bit more,” the 37-year-old said.
“If it’s the last time that I played here, I’m at peace with myself,” Nadal said, smiling. “I tried everything to be ready for this tournament. The last two years, I have been working and going through probably the toughest process in my tennis career with the dream to come back here. At least I did. I lost, but that’s part of the business.
