Seeing a Roland Garros without Rafa Nadal is already a feasible option. In his entire professional career, the Spaniard only once failed to visit Paris: it was in his debut year, in 2004, when he suffered his first fracture in his left foot and was unable to play on clay.. Since then, 18 consecutive editions, 14 titles held, the biggest success story in tennis and one of the biggest in the sport.. Until this course? This Thursday at 4:00 p.m., at his Manacor academy, Nadal will reveal at a press conference if his streak at Roland Garros suffers a hiatus.
Suffering from a muscle tear in his left leg for several weeks, off the slopes since the Australian Open in January, his forecasts called for returning to the Masters 1000 in Madrid or Rome and being in Paris, but finally everything points to that, after missing the previous appointments, he will not meet his goal either. The miracle he experienced so many times, like last year, when he arrived with severe pain in his left foot, this time it seems very difficult.
His resignation from Roland Garros, the second of his life, would be a severe psychological blow. At 36, after becoming a father for the first time, his season was focused on arriving in the best possible conditions at Philippe Chatrier and now he may have to refocus his goals. Without the rush due to the proximity of the French event, his recovery will have more margin, but the grass of Wimbledon does not seem the best place to return from an injury and the indoor concrete would also be a challenge in that sense..
More taking into account the fall in the ranking that his absence in Paris would cause. Despite the fact that, with his record, it would not have any importance at a historical level, it would have it at a practical level. Without the 2,000 points from Roland Garros, he would end up outside the Top 100, which would lead to an uncomfortable horizon, with the best rivals located in the early rounds.. It would be a strange situation in which Nadal has not been in for more than 20 years, since 2003, even before his first absence in the French Grand Slam..
A rehabilitation that lasts
“Now it's sports rest and anti-inflammatory physiotherapy. Normal recovery time: 6 to 8 weeks,” Nadal explained on his Twitter in January when he revealed the medical diagnosis that could take him away from Paris: grade 2 injury to the iliopsoas muscle in his left leg. Then, communicated to communication, he explained that the rehabilitation was not progressing as he wished and that it was getting longer, getting longer, getting longer. His body, once again, lamented.
If at the last Australian Open it was the left leg, months ago at the US Open it had been the abdomen, already damaged at Wimbledon 2022, before, at the beginning of the course, a cracked rib and before so many injuries.. “It is evident that things are happening, the glass fills up and there comes a time when the water can come out,” said the Spaniard at a press conference a few months ago, recalling his “advanced age”, his 36 years. At the same time, he also wanted to remove the possibility of an immediate withdrawal, something that is still off the table.
The probable loss of Nadal at Roland Garros increases the options for the title of the rest of the candidates. “Do I feel like a favorite in Paris? It depends on whether Nadal plays or not,” Novak Djokovic accepted this Wednesday after losing to the Danish Holger Rune 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 of Rome. Carlos Alcaraz, also defeated in Rome, will be the other major contender with others, such as Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas or Rune himself on the list.
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