The king of clay hopes to sign one last victory and perhaps confirm his retirement. Nobody expects Rafa Nadal to announce his retirement, especially when in 2022 he has shown great performancebut also a great effort, greater wear and tear and has made it clear that he is human, but not in vain is he the master of brick dust and on Sunday, June 5, he has a new appointment with history, it will probably be his last match in the which became his favorite competition, the truth is that the man from Manaco will play the final of Roland Garros.
Reaching this stage was not easy, not only because of the rivals he had to face, but ask Auger-Aliassime, the Canadian demanded Rafa in the round of 16 of the French competition, later the Balearic faced nothing more and nothing less than the number 1 in the world, Novak Djokovic, in a quarterfinal duel in which Nole started as a favorite, but the king of brick dust appealed to the epic and left the Serbian on the road.
The big date came this Friday to play the semifinal against a strong and dangerous Axelander Zverev, the German was the executioner of Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, so in this duel any forecast to give a clear favorite could be somewhat daring and daring. Precisely the match turned out to be the most interesting, very even, although at times the balance tipped in favor of the Teuton, but Rafa appeared there who was able to take the first set to the tie-break and won 7-6 when it seemed that he would give in the first game.
The clock was already showing approximately 3 hours of the match, and the second set was even 6-6, a clear example of how close the match was, although from moment to moment the wind could blow in favor of one or the other, when the second tie-break of the day was about to be played, Alexander Zverev in a play in which he returned a shot to his rival suffered a serious ankle injury, the audience at the Philippe Chatrier remained silent, the shouts of “Sacha’s” pain resounded in the room and Rafa just looked at his rival in disbelief.
Zverev was removed from the court in a wheelchair to be evaluated by the doctors, it was evident that by leaving the court like that his return to action was in doubt, his withdrawal from the match was confirmed after the 15-minute regulation wait, but the German could not continue and after three hours of play and with just one complete set (7-6) and the other tied (6-6), the match was over and Rafa advanced to a new Roland Garros final.
drama and emotion
Both Rafel Nadal, the public, his followers and those who enjoyed the match, undoubtedly expected and longed for a victory for the manacorí, particularly who writes these lines, also expected Rafa’s victory after that great duel he was playing against one of the best tennis players currently on the circuit, but fortune was not on Zverev’s side physically and certainly no one, not even Nadal himself, would have wanted the match to end like this, but in these instances even drama and emotion are present.
Nadal, always appealing to the sportsmanship and chivalry that characterizes him on and off the court, dedicated a few words to his rival: “It was a very tough match. More than three hours and we still hadn’t even finished the second set. It’s one one of the toughest challenges on tour when he plays at such a high level. It’s hard to say anything in this situation.”
“For me it is a dream to return to the Roland Garros final one more time, but at the same time, not in this way. I have been with him before returning to the court and it is very hard to see him cry. It is a very hard moment. I wish all the best and a quick recovery”, stressed Rafa, who was visibly affected by the outcome of the match.
As if that were not enough, Rafa made it clear that his dream is to win another title at Roland Garros, but he also shows great physical wear and tear and the injury to his foot does not give him respite: “I prefer to lose the final and have a new foot that allows me to be happier in my day to day. Winning is nice and fills you with momentary joy. But life goes on and it is the most important thing. I have a life ahead of me and I would like to play amateur sports with my friends and this right now is a unknown”.
Will he retire after Roland Garros?
The answer to that big question of course has Rafa Nadal, Surely he will already be meditating with his team that will happen after the Parisian contest, although the native of Manacor has a new date with history on Sunday, where he will seek to raise his fourteenth Los Musketeers cup, in addition to adding his 22nd title in a Grand Slam, which would further distance him from Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, the reality is that physically he has made it clear that it is time to stop.
No athlete wants to think about retirement, perhaps no one is ready for that moment yet, however, it is an inevitable step, but also difficult and complex. Rafa has already shown with each victory, each comeback and with each title on different surfaces, that he is already a tennis legend, that even in a few years when Roland Garros is talked about he will be the main reference of said tournament, they will also talk about his great friendship with Roger Federer and his marked rivalry with Djokovic.
For now we will all be attentive to Sunday’s game and whatever happens, no matter what the result, but Rafael Nadal will continue to be the top winner of Roland Garros, the king of clay and a synonym of sporting greatness and we must be prepared because we will surely hear Rafa say bye. @worldwide
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