PARIS (AP) — The noise was loud and relentless, a chorus of thousands shouting “ Ra-fa! Ra-fa! ” whenever their man occasionally found a moment of genius of the kind he spoke of so often in French Open and elsewhere over the years.
The nearly 15,000 people in attendance roared with support as Rafael Nadal entered Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday, voices echoing under the closed roof of a venue he called “magical for me.” When the 14-time French Open champion approached the net for the pre-match draw. When he took his swing during the warm-up. And, most importantly, when he whipped his signature topspin left forehand or sliced his two-fisted crosscourt backhand or placed a volley perfectly to claim a point.
The problem for Nadal and his fans is that he didn’t have enough points against Alexander Zverev. Not enough vintage play to allow his oft-injured, nearly 38-year-old body to eke out one more victory, no matter how hard the people in the stands tried to make it happen. And so he lost 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the first round of the French Open to Zverev in what could turn out to be that of Nadal last match at the clay court tournament he dominated for so long.
“If this is the last time I play here,” Nadal said, “I am at peace with myself.”
It’s the first time in his long and illustrious career that Nadal has been beaten in two straight matches on clay – he lost to Hubert Hurkacz at the Italian Open on May 11 – and this is the first time he has lost a match before the fourth round at Roland Garros.
“The last two years I have worked and gone through probably the most difficult process of my tennis career with the dream of coming back here. At least I did it,” Nadal said. “I mean, I lost, but that’s part of the business.”
He had indicated that 2024 would probably be his last season, but he said Saturday he wasn’t absolutely sure he will be at Roland-Garros again. He reiterated this after only his fourth loss in 116 career matches at the venue.
“I’m not saying I’m retiring today,” said the Spaniard, whose 1.5-year-old son Rafael Jr. sat on his mother’s lap in the stands.
Although Nadal said he was unlikely to compete at Wimbledon, which he has won twice and which begins July 1, he indicated he hoped to return to the French Open later that month , when the tennis competition of the Olympic Games will take place at the Roland-Garros site.
Monday’s match ended disappointingly, with the 22-time Grand Slam champion unable to play as usual after a year and a half of hip and abdominal injuries. He had hip surgery at the 2023 French Open, the first time he has missed it since winning his debut there as a teenager.
“My body has been a jungle for two years. You don’t know what to expect,” Nadal said. “I wake up one day and it felt like a snake was biting me. Another day, a tiger.
Nadal, who turns 38 on June 3, is limited to 16 matches and is 8-8 since the start of last year. His infrequent play dropped his ranking to No. 275, and he was unranked for the first time at Roland Garros; he had never been worse than the No. 6 seed in 18 previous appearances.
This is why Nadal found himself facing Zverev, seeded No. 4.2020 US Open finalist, Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and only man to reach the semi-finals in Paris each of the last three years.
Nadal’s other losses at Roland Garros came against Robin Soderling in 2009 and against Novak Djokovic in 2015 and 2021.
Djokovic, owner of 24 major championships and against whom Nadal has played more than any other, sat in the stands on Monday, as did young stars Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz. There too: Nadal’s uncle, Toni, who was his coach. Unsurprisingly, it was difficult to spot even a single empty chair anywhere in the arena at what many considered a historic event.
Here and there, when Nadal was able to find the goods and gain the upper hand over his opponent, he would shout “Vamos!” and throw that celebratory uppercut that has become so familiar, from the days of muscle shirts and capri pants to the Monday look of baby blue sleeves and standard-length white shorts. His numerous and vocal supporters responded in kind, pumping their fists in the air right next to him, waving their red and yellow Spanish flags or clapping to the beat of a drum.
If Nadal put a ball in the net, or sailed wide or long, groans of disappointment filled the cold air. Between points, especially when trying to navigate a difficult spot, it was so quiet that the coos of a pigeon were audible from one corner of the stadium.
Nadal started shaky, with a misplayed drop shot and a double fault contributing to a break at love. He broke again to end the first set.
The 6-foot-6 (1.98 meter) Zverev is a talented player who is coming off a clay court title at the Italian Open. The 27-year-old German uses all of his long legs and considerable wingspan to cover the court well and unleash hard-to-corral groundstrokes.
While he plays in Paris, he awaits the start of a trial in a Berlin court on Friday over accusations of domestic violence brought by an ex-girlfriend. Zverev does not need to be present in court and has said he will not be there.
On Monday, there were two stretches, albeit brief ones, where Nadal seemed to be able to find enough muscle memory to make it a close contest.
In the second set, just after missing a backhand and lowering his head, Nadal faced two break points that would have put Zverev up 3-1. Nadal escaped, using an ace at 116 mph (187 km/h) and a serve winner at 117 mph (188 km/h) to hold, before taking a 3-2 lead.
Roared.
Not so fast. Nadal served for that set at 5-4, but Zverev broke at love, then proved superior in the ensuing tiebreaker.
At the start of the third set, Nadal erased two break points again, then took a 2-0 lead with a runaway forehand. He raised his fists, gritted his teeth and shouted: “Vamos!”
No more roars.
Once again, however, Nadal failed to stay the course and quickly returned to 2-all. Zverev took the lead to lead 5-3, and that was basically it. Nadal said his body felt as good as it had for a while during training, and he could finally move without limitations, but he hasn’t competed enough lately.
“To maintain your level (with) that amount of energy, that amount of focus,” he explained, “you have to play often.”
Speaking directly to fans, Nadal said: “The feelings you made me feel here are incredible. I really hope to see you again, but I don’t know. Thank you so much.”
And with that, he gathered his bags and headed towards the locker room, but not before stopping to look around. He immediately applauded those who applauded him and greeted him with a final chant.
“Ra-fa!” Ra-fa!
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This story has been corrected to set the year of Nadal’s loss to Soderling. It was 2009, not 2010.
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AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis