Patrick Mouratoglou has tipped Rafael Nadal to return to Roland-Garros for at least another year, saying that is he is not yet finished and can win the tournament for a 15th time.
After playing just three matches in the best part of two years due to hip and abdominal issues, Nadal pushed Alexander Zverev hard in their first-round match on Monday, a vast improvement on his performances since he returned to the Tour in April.
The Frenchman said on Instagram the massive strides Nadal made in the past few weeks and the way he played against Zverev had convinced him that the Spaniard will not retire yet and will be a major threat at the Olympics and perhaps even Roland-Garros in 2025.
“Everybody thought, oh, that’s the last match of Rafa or it’s clear now that he cannot compete at that level; all these statements are completely wrong”, Mouratoglou said.
“I saw the opposite. I saw someone who’s now feeling great, because he knows he can still compete at that level. “
KEY MOMENTS
0.00 – This is not Rafa’s last appearance at Roland-Garros
0.20 – Nadal’s level much improved from two weeks ago
0.35 – Considering the level he was able to produce, he believes now he can compete at highest level
0.45 – Not playing Wimbledon a strong sign he thinks he can win the Olympics
1.00 – Nadal will do well at Olympics with more practise time and better conditions
1.20 – If he does win Olympics, he is a strong candidate to win Roland-Garros next year
1.42 – Two reasons Nadal would stop: injury or a drop in level required to compete at the top
2.00 – If he stays injury-free, Nadal will not yet stop his career
After playing just three matches in the best part of two years due to hip and abdominal issues, Nadal pushed Alexander Zverev hard in their first-round match on Monday, a vast improvement on his performances since he returned to the Tour in April.
The Frenchman said on Instagram the massive strides Nadal made in the past few weeks and the way he played against Zverev had convinced him that the Spaniard will not retire yet and will be a major threat at the Olympics and perhaps even Roland-Garros in 2025.
“Everybody thought, oh, that’s the last match of Rafa or it’s clear now that he cannot compete at that level; all these statements are completely wrong”, Mouratoglou said.
“I saw the opposite. I saw someone who’s now feeling great, because he knows he can still compete at that level. “
KEY MOMENTS
0.00 – This is not Rafa’s last appearance at Roland-Garros
0.20 – Nadal’s level much improved from two weeks ago
0.35 – Considering the level he was able to produce, he believes now he can compete at highest level
0.45 – Not playing Wimbledon a strong sign he thinks he can win the Olympics
1.00 – Nadal will do well at Olympics with more practise time and better conditions
1.20 – If he does win Olympics, he is a strong candidate to win Roland-Garros next year
1.42 – Two reasons Nadal would stop: injury or a drop in level required to compete at the top
2.00 – If he stays injury-free, Nadal will not yet stop his career
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00 I don't think one second that it's Rafa's last moment.
00:02 A lot of people said that.
00:03 I mean, most of the guys, they bury him already.
00:05 And I think he's far from being at the end of his career.
00:07 Everybody thought, "Oh, that's the last match of Rafa."
00:13 "Oh, it's clear now that he cannot compete at that level."
00:16 All these statements are completely wrong.
00:18 I saw the opposite.
00:19 The level he was playing two, three weeks ago
00:21 was extremely poor compared to, of course, what he can do.
00:24 But I think this match against Varev
00:26 made him feel that he can compete at the highest level.
00:28 Of course, he lost it. He lost in three sets.
00:30 But considering the short time that he had to practice,
00:33 considering the lack of competition that he has,
00:35 the quality of the tennis he was able to produce,
00:37 I think he feels now that he can compete at the highest level.
00:39 I saw someone who's now feeling great
00:41 because he knows he can still compete at that level.
00:44 The fact that he decides not to go to Wimbledon
00:46 is also a strong sign that he wants to win the Olympics
00:49 and that he thinks he can.
00:50 And that is not his farewell year,
00:53 going to every tournament to say goodbye.
00:54 Otherwise, he would go to Wimbledon.
00:56 No, no, no, no, no. He wants to win the Olympics.
00:57 So he's going to prepare on clay.
00:58 He's going to probably play one or two 50s on clay.
01:01 And I think if he does well at the Olympics,
01:02 and I think he will do well.
01:04 Also, first, because he will have much more practice
01:06 in terms of number of weeks,
01:07 some more competition and great conditions.
01:09 Don't forget that the conditions he had against Varev
01:11 were the worst for him.
01:12 Indoors, very humid. The ball was not bouncing.
01:15 So for his spin, it's not great.
01:17 If he would have played the match outdoor with a big sun,
01:19 it would be different also.
01:20 So in the Olympics, he will have those conditions.
01:22 If he does well at the Olympics,
01:23 he's going to potentially win the Olympics next year.
01:25 He can, for sure.
01:26 I agree with Benoit Paire when he said that 95% of the players
01:29 of the field would lose in three sets against this Rafa.
01:32 I think he was unlucky to play Varev in the first round.
01:34 He proved himself that he can compete with,
01:36 still with the best players in the world.
01:38 It just needs more practice and more competition.
01:40 There are two reasons why Rafa would stop his career.
01:43 First, if he's injured in a way that he cannot practice
01:46 the way he needs to practice to be at the top.
01:48 Or because he feels he doesn't have the level anymore.
01:51 Now he feels he has the level.
01:52 He feels more confident about his physical now.
01:55 Of course, tomorrow he can have another big injury
01:57 and then his career might stop.
01:59 But as far as he doesn't have this injury,
02:01 he can practice, he can compete,
02:03 and he feels he has the level, and he does.
02:05 I don't see him stopping his career for the moment.
02:07 [Music]