Rafael Nadal was one of the most anticipated athletes at the Paris Olympics, especially after playing the role of a fan during the opening ceremony of the Games. The former world number 1 knew he could hardly win a medal, despite the Olympic tournament being played on the same red clay as the French Open (where he won 14 times in his legendary career).
In singles the Spanish champion was eliminated already in the second round by his great rival Novak Djokovic, who prevailed in two sets without even struggling too much. In doubles with his young compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, Rafa had to surrender to the American champions Ram and Krajicek in the quarterfinals.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion recently announced that he will miss the 2024 US Open and use the next few days to decide what his future holds. Despite having trained hard in recent months and done everything possible to get back to 100% of the form, it is clear that Nadal’s current level is not enough to aspire to win the most important titles.
The Spanish ace will surely play the 2024 Laver Cup – which will take place in Berlin at the end of September – and possibly the Davis Cup Finals. According to many fans and experts, the Davis Cup Finals could be the last event of his amazing career.
Mark Cavendish praises Rafa
Rafa Nadal has fully enjoyed his last Olympic experience, deciding to stay in the Olympic village unlike his rival Nole Djokovic. The former world number 1 has always had a great feeling for the Olympics, having won the gold medal in singles at Beijing 2008 and in doubles at Rio 2016 (together with his current coach Marc Lopez).
In a recent interview, legend of cycling Mark Cavendish praised Rafa for his choice to stay in the Olympic village: “I heard Rafa Nadal defend his decision to stay in the Olympic Village this year, arguing that you can only fully experience it if you immerse yourself completely. I’m with him. But it may be worth noting that it was Novak Djokovic who took the Olympic gold, choosing to settle outside. I fear that the Olympic villages have lost their magic.
The 2024 of the Spanish was quite stingy with satisfactions. The former world number 1 reached only one final this year, on the red clay of Bastad, but was defeated by Nuno Borges. During the latest edition of his podcast, former American star and top analyst Andy Roddick reflected on Rafa’s current status: “I find it hard to believe that he’s going to ramp up and try and make another run at the French Open, but I’ve been wrong about him before and any analyst who has an opinion, we’re just guessing. We don’t know, we aren’t part of his inner circle.
I certainly don’t tick like the greatest players of all time. Can’t understand it, but I don’t know if he wants to be competing for titles at Bastad. I don’t know if that’s his lane. We will see. We’re all better when he’s around. Hopefully we see him in big finals again. I don’t know. It feels like this could be the end. Laver Cup could be a celebration.”
Nadal may retire soon
Recently, 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer expressed some concern about the condition of his former rival and good friend: “Three and two (the scoreline) Oh, God. Yeah, I saw he was down 1-0, love-40. That’s the last time I checked, a few hours ago, but when I saw the score, I was like, ‘Oh, no—I hope his body is okay.’
So, yeah — I do check in with the game almost daily to see scores and results. Watching is a whole different thing — I love watching it when it’s on TV. We’ve been watching a ton of football as well — the Euros, and now the Olympics are coming up, so I’m going to watch all of that. I’m a big sports fan. But again, I’m always out and about and busy. But especially in the evening, when the day unwinds and I have time to sit back and maybe go on YouTube and watch some highlights, I tend to do that. I like to be up to speed on what’s going on, because the guys play nice, and I like to see what they’re doing.
Due to his many injuries and his particular playing style, almost no one imagined that Rafa would have such a long career at the top. The Spaniard rewrote the history of this sport together with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer
