Tennis legend, Rafael Nadal was knocked out of the Roland Garros on Monday by Germany's Alexander Zverev in straight sets. Zverev joined the elite list of Novak Djokovic and Robin Soderling to become only the third player to beat the 'King of Clay' in Roland Garros since 2005.
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Last year, Nadal had revealed that 2024 could be his last season on tour. Though the Spaniard didn't say so in as many words, the tennis world speculated whether the first-round defeat was the end of the road for Nadal at Roland Garros, a tournament he has won record 14 times.
His rival Djokovic however feels that Nadal, 38, won’t be calling on his career so soon and might be tempted to give another shot at the French Open in 2025.
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What did Novak Djokovic say on Rafael Nadal's French Open retirement?
Djokovic and Nadal have been rivals for a long time. The two have faced each other for a total of 59 times, with 10 of them being in the French Open.
Djokovic was present at Court Phillipe Chatrier for what was possibly Nadal’s last game at the French Open.
"It was great. Iga (Swiatek) was there, (Carlos) Alcaraz was there, and we all wanted to get a glimpse of the atmosphere of that possibly unique moment that could be his last. But it doesn’t appear like that," Djokovic said after winning his first-round match on Tuesday.
When asked if he expected to see Nadal back for the 2025 French Open, Djokovic said “Yeah, it looks like.”
"I think he played very well," the Serb said on Nadal's performance against Zverev. "Even though he lost in straight sets, the second and third were really close. He could have easily won one of those two sets, and maybe the match was going in a different direction."
The last 14 months have been tough for the injury-ridden Nadal, who at 38, is finding it more difficult to recover to peak athleticism. The luck of the draw didn't favour him either, as Nadal was drawn to play No 4 seed Zverev in the very first round.
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"It’s tough to play Sascha when he’s feeling the ball so well. But it was great to watch," Djokovic said. "I don’t recall last time I actually watched a set of any match live on that level, other than Davis Cup matches."
What did Rafael Nadal say about his impending retirement?
Even though time is not on his side, Nadal made no guarantees that he will be quitting the stage just yet.
“I managed to play without limitations, I fought and I had real chances of taking the match to a completely different situation against one of the best players in the world,” Nadal said after his match. The French Open was only the fourth tournament of the year for the Spaniard.
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“Two things prevented me from doing it— he is very good, and I needed more (matches) to play with instinct in all those moments and to get the confidence to understand what I had to do in those key points. It’s been a long time since I’ve done that.”
It may not be curtains for Nadal at Roland Garros just yet. He is schedule to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the tennis event will be played at the same venue.
“I’m confident I’ll be well prepared when I get there, but at the Olympic Games I’ll be in the same situation I’m in now. I could face anyone in the first round,” said Nadal.
“It’s a completely different situation to what I’ve had for the rest of my career, regardless of any problems I may have had. If I arrive fit and well — hopefully a little better than today, and feeling that I’ve had a month and a half more of practice and confidence — I’ll come here and enjoy the Olympics. Who knows what might happen afterwards.”
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