By Rafa Nadal is already looking forward to Roland Garros, the biggest clay court event of the season that he has won 14 times and where he has a trubute statue. However, Nadal will get to Paris with more doubts than ever after spending a year without competing and having a more complicated return than expected.
Nadal, who returned to Manacor on Sunday to prepare for the Paris event after being eliminated by Hubert Hurkacz in Rome, talked to France TV Sport in an interview where he confessed he feels good about being able to continue playing. “I’m happy to be back on the tour. For me it’s great to be back after many months without knowing if I could play again”, he said.
Nadal admitted that having to withdraw from Monte Carlo hurt him, and recognized that he tried to be in Barcelona, Madrid, and Rome:
“It hurt me a lot not to be able to play in Monte Carlo. But I have been able to play in Barcelona, Madrid, Rome… and hopefully I will be able to do so at Roland Garros. These tournaments have a sporting and emotional value that is very difficult to explain in words. I was excited to be playing in these tournaments.”
Nadal’s priority: being competitive enough
Nadal is already thinking about the French Open although he regrets that this year will be tough if he isn’t competitive enough.
“It will be very tough if I can’t play Roland Garros. But also on a personal level and with all the emotions and the history I have had at Roland Garros, I think it will be tougher for me to play if I don’t have the opportunity to really compete. “I don’t want to feel at Roland Garros as I have sometimes felt in Madrid or Barcelona, not being able to fight”, Nadal added.
The remote possibility of seeing Nadal winning his 15th French Open title looms on the horizon. Nadal said he will do whatever it takes to record a good performance in the event.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be competitive at Roland Garros. I’m going to go out to play the tournament thinking that I can give my all, that I can play at my 100%, and if my body is not there to win any game, then accept it, but not go out on the court knowing that I have no option. If there’s a 0.01% chance I can be competitive in Roland Garros, I sure want to try to play. If not, I prefer to keep all the happy memories”, he concluded.
