The Spanish tennis legend has dismissed rumors he is set to retire, assuring fans he will keep going after winning the 14th French Open title.
After the historic 14th French Open title victory added another chapter to his historic legacy, Rafael Nadal - one of the greatest tennis players in history hinted that he has no intention of retiring and thanked the support of the Philippe Chatrier crowd, reports Business Standard.
First tennis player to win 22 Grand Slams
World Number five Nadal put up a dominant show against Casper Ruud of Norway to win the men's singles final match 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 at the Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday, June 5 to clinch his record 14th French Open crown. By earning his 22nd Grand Slam crown, the Spaniard has moved further clear of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the Grand Slam race, with the Serbian and Swiss, who just announced his retirement tied on 20 major titles.
It is the first time Nadal has won the Australian Open and Roland Garros trophies in the same season and he is now level with compatriot Carlos Alcaraz on a Tour-leading four titles in 2022 after improving to 112-3 at the clay-court major.
Injuries won't
Apart from clinching a record-extending French Open crown, the 36-year-old Spaniard also indicated that he is not going to retire anytime soon, slamming the rumors and speculations about his chronic foot injury problem during the campaign in Paris.
Nadal will continue his legacy
Before Nadal's incredible match, he had been struggling with a chronic foot injury in the defeat to Denis Shapovalov in Rome a little more than three weeks before. However, he showcased his trademark fighting qualities and perseverance throughout the fortnight in Paris to ensure he would maintain his stranglehold on the French Open trophy, improving to a remarkable 14-0 in the Roland Garros finals.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner candidly shared during an on-court interview after winning his 14th French Open crown:
‘I don't know what can happen in the future. I will keep fighting to try to keep going. For me it is incredible to play here with amazing support from you to me.'
Elsewhere in the talk, Nadal thanked the Philippe Chattrier crowd for pushing him on throughout the course of the Roland Garros tournament, saying:
‘For me personally it is very difficult to describe the feelings that I have. It's something that I for sure never believed, to be here at 36, being competitive again, playing in the most important court of my career one more final.'
‘Especially in the very tough moments we went through in terms of injuries if you don't have great support from the team nothing of this would happen because I would have retired much before,’ Nadal added.
Nadal admitted that he needed pain-killing injections in his left foot before every match in Paris and will undergo treatment again in Spain, as reported by The Economic Times.
‘If it works, I keep going. If not, it will be another story and I will ask myself if I am ready to do a major surgery which may not guarantee I will be competitive and may take a long time to be back.'
Nadal, who will rise to No 4 in the ATP Rankings on Monday, moved past Top 10 stars Felix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev to set a first ATP Head-to-Head meeting with World No. 8 Ruud.
Following his triumph over the Norwegian, the Spaniard has become the third player to earn four Top 10 wins at a Grand Slam since the ATP Rankings started in 1973. Mats Wilander at Roland Garros in 1982 and Roger Federer at the Australian Open in 2017 also achieved the feat.
Read more:
⋙ Inside Roger Federer's huge net worth as tennis legend retires from sports
⋙ Tennis legend Serena Williams announces retirement from glorious career for family reasons
⋙ Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel announces retirement from F1 career
⋙ Will Roger Federer retire soon? Here's what he recently said on life off the court
