Why would I have retired when I was in the running for three Grand Slams?", Nadal reflects on his 2022 year
Retired since last November, Nadal is set to receive a tribute in Paris, where he built a significant part of his legend. In an interview with the newspaper L'Équipe on this occasion, the Spaniard discussed various topics, particularly about continuing to play after the year 2022:
"I didn’t see the point in stopping. Since I won in Paris, why would I retire? In 2022, I won the Australian Open, Acapulco, Roland Garros. I broke a rib in the final at Indian Wells and tore my abdominal muscles at Wimbledon. If that hadn’t happened, I think I could have won in London. How could I have retired at such a big sporting moment, when I was fighting to become world number one and was nearly securing three Grand Slam titles?
Today, I don’t miss tennis, because I feel I ended my career knowing I had little left to accomplish. My body had reached a point where I couldn’t do more. In the first 40 days after my retirement, I would have liked to continue playing, because I was still capable from a game point of view.
But my foot was terrible, I could barely walk. I dedicated most of my life, almost 30 years, to one thing. Maybe the last year of tennis was too much because my body didn’t allow me to compete at the level I wanted. But that, I couldn’t have known.
French Open
The best fighter ever! You remain the number one genius storming out at a time Federer almost made tennis a one sided game. You brought the balance which everyone was on the edge of his or her seat to savour.
Congratulations to the BEST