Rafael Nadal still hasn’t confirmed his participation at the upcoming French Open, but Monday offered an encouraging sign in the form of a practice at Roland Garros.
Nadal’s clay-court comeback this season has featured three tournament appearances–in Barcelona, Madrid, and Rome. The 37-year-old Spaniard won at least one match at each event, including three at the Madrid Masters before losing to Jiri Lehecka.
Although the signs were mostly encouraging from a physical standpoint, the 14-time French Open champion insists that he won’t take the court unless there is a chance he can be competitive.
“I’m going to play the tournament [if I think] that I can give my all, 100 percent,” Nadal explained while in Rome. “And if 100 percent is not enough to win a match, I’ll accept that. But I don’t want to step onto court knowing that I have no chance. If there’s a 0.01% chance, I want to explore that and give it a go.”
“We have to enjoy the time he has left on court, evaluate it, and be aware that it’s very unlikely that something like [his reception in Madrid] will happen again,” coach Carlos Moya said earlier this month. “The adrenaline he’s feeling at the moment…he won’t feel that again, and he’s really enjoying it. It’s something that you miss when you stop playing.
“Personally, I’m never on court when he enters or leaves–but I am this year because I like seeing the love he gets from the people when he steps on court. He is one of the great stars of this sport. He’s about to retire, and it’s really amazing to see that.”
Marc Lopez, another member of the coaching team, has been trying to build up Nadal’s confidence–perhaps in advance of giving it another go at Roland Garros.
“From the outside, we try to tell him he’s better than he thinks he is,” Lopez noted. “On clay he always dedicates more time to everything and our job is to make him see that he’s better than he thinks. He’s competitive, improving every day, and taking small steps forward so that he can arrive at Roland Garros in the best condition possible–which is the main goal.”
