There is speculation that Rafael Nadal could miss the Olympics (Picture: Getty)
Rafael Nadal has suffered a new thigh injury and has been seen with a bandage on his leg, leading him to cancel practice with Alexander Zverev ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris, amid speculation he could withdraw.
It is not yet known how severe Nadal’s thigh problem is – but given his long-term injury issues over the last few years – it is a big concern for the 38-year-old, who is due to be playing his first-round singles and doubles matches this weekend.
The 22-time major winner, famously known as the King of Clay, faces Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in his opening singles match and is projected to play his rival Novak Djokovic in a blockbuster second-round showdown at Roland-Garros.
Nadal, playing his last Olympics, has also formed a Spanish dream team with Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz and they are set to lock horns with Argentine duo Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in their first-round match.
The veteran’s participation is now in doubt, though, because of his new injury, which forced him to cancel a scheduled training session with this year’s French Open runner-up Zverev on Thursday, one day before the opening ceremony.
Nadal skipped Wimbledon this year because he didn’t want to risk injury with going from the clay surface to grass and then straight back to the red dirt. But it now appears that Nadal’s hopes of avoiding injury has ultimately failed.
Djokovic is very much hoping that Nadal will be fit to play in singles and was ‘excited’ by the idea of possibly facing his Big Three rival in the second round.
‘I am aware that an era with Nadal and [Andy] Murray’s retirements after the Games is ending,’ Djokovic said.
‘I think my career is also coming to an end, but I believe there are and there will be tennis players who can carry the weight of being the best.
‘It would be exciting to play against Nadal in the second round. I feel more ready than I was before Wimbledon. I had many opportunities to win gold and now I have to start taking advantage of them.
‘The fact that I am not a favourite for bookmakers is just a motivation for me. The Olympic Games have always been a great challenge for me.
‘I focused all my preparation on this tournament. I think I will immediately adapt to the conditions of Roland-Garros since we played there two months ago.’
Nadal has been in fine form heading into the Olympics, reaching his first ATP Tour singles final in over two years at the clay-court Swedish Open.
He defeated Bjorn Borg’s son, British star Cameron Norrie, Mariano Navone and Duje Ajdukovic in Bastad.
