Nadal: “I won’t go to Roland Garros if I see that I have no choice”

Spanish Rafa Nadal has assured that he will not go to Roland Garros if he feels that he does not have the opportunity to “be competitive”although he noted that if he felt he had a “0.01% chance” he would seek his fifteenth crown in Paris.

“I don’t want to feel the same way at Roland Garros as I did in Madrid or Barcelona, ​​without being able to really fight.”– said the tennis player in an interview given before the tournament in Rome and broadcast on French public television France 2. Nadal assured that on the clay court of the Grand Slam tournament he has “some emotions and history” that will make him “tougher on a personal level.” .. play without being able to compete.

“If there is a 0.01% chance…”

“I mean, I go into the tournament thinking that I can’t be at my best, one hundred percent. If being at our best isn’t enough to even win the game, we’ll have to live with it.. But I don’t think I’ll go out on the court knowing that I have no choice,” said the Mallorcan, who left early for Madrid, Barcelona and Rome.

“But if there are 0.01% options I want to explore, I’ll try.”. “If it’s 0%, I’d rather keep one more memory of the tournament,” he added.

Nadal assured that He never said “one hundred percent” that this would be his last season., although in the back of his mind he thought about it and noted that “you never know what will happen in the future.” He admitted that his physique “responded a little less well than I expected at the start of the season” but he is now “happy with the progress”.

“I’m fine, I’m happy to be out on the field after months of not knowing if I’ll be able to play again. I was very sad that I couldn’t play in Monte Carlo, but I was able to play in Barcelona, ​​Madrid and Rome, and I hope to play at Roland Garros.. These are tournaments that have a lot of sporting and sentimental value for me, it’s hard to explain in words, I hope I can play in all the tournaments I can,” he said.

Paris Games

He also confirmed his desire to take part in the Paris Games: “It is something unique in sports, an atmosphere that is only felt during the Games, in sports such as tennis, football, basketball, soccer… in the most popular sports . popular, I think they are the essence of the sport. This year they will take place at Roland Garros, a special place for me, in Paris, the most important city in my career.. We’ll see, there’s a lot of time ahead, I have a lot of things to do first, but I hope I can compete in them, I’d really like that.”

Nadal said he is aware of “everything that has happened” in his sports career and believes his injuries have helped him appreciate his achievements even more. “At the age of 18, I had a serious foot injury, and there was a possibility that I would not be able to play tennis. This made my career very difficult on a physical level. But on the other hand, it helped me appreciate what had happened to me throughout my career,” he said.

“I’m shy, I don’t show myself much when things are going well, I live moments with internal emotions. But I am aware of what happened in my sports career. “I can only thank everyone who supported me and gave me the opportunity to live the life that I have lived in an enjoyable and fun way,” he added.

As for his future retirement life, he noted that he will miss sports, but he has other things to make up for it. “It’s hard to accept all the changes in life, but I’m lucky that I had a lot of other things that made me happy.”I have a family that gives me a lot, and it won’t change. But the adrenaline that sports gives is difficult to find in life outside of sports,” he said.