- Rafael Nadal was outclassed by his old rival in his straight-sets defeat in Paris
- The veteran Spaniard’s singles streak has come to an end, raising questions about his retirement
- Nadal revealed that he will make a decision about his future after the Olympic Games
Rafael Nadal has revealed he will make a decision on whether to retire from tennis after the Olympics following his singles defeat to Novak Djokovic.
Nadal fell 6-1 6-4 to his long-time rival on the Paris clay on Monday in what turned out to be a one-sided encounter between the two titans.
It was only the fifth defeat at Roland Garros in 118 matches for Nadal, a 14-time French Open champion, but after battling persistent injuries and missing several tournaments in recent years, he could be considering quitting the sport.
The 38-year-old remains in the doubles competition with fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz but admitted he is coming to the end of an illustrious career at the top.
“I try to look ahead,” Nadal told reporters. “I’ve given my all until the Olympics.
Rafael Nadal has revealed that he will make a decision on whether to retire after the Olympics
Nadal lost to his long-time rival Novak Djokovic in a singles duel at Roland Garros
‘When this tournament is over I will make the necessary decisions based on my feelings and desires. It is difficult to recover if I am thinking about whether I will retire.
‘For many people it doesn’t make much sense, I’ve been suffering for two years.
‘If I feel like I’m not competitive, I make the decision to stop. I just try to do my best every day, trying to enjoy something that I’ve been enjoying for so long.
‘I’ve had a lot of injuries over the last two years.
‘So if I feel like I’m not competitive enough to continue or I’m not physically ready to continue, I’ll stop and let you know.’
Reflecting on his defeat, Nadal said it was “simple” for him to acknowledge that Djokovic is “a much better player” and insisted he had to “accept” reality.
“I knew there was a chance that it would happen,” he added. “I couldn’t play at the level I needed to in order to cause him problems.”
After battling persistent injuries and missing tournaments, Nadal could retire from the sport
Nadal and Djokovic shared a warm moment at the net after their match on the clay of Paris
‘And Djokovic didn’t give me anything either, he was inspired and I didn’t have the quality of continuous ball to create problems for him.
“I don’t have the same legs as I did 20 years ago. Without the quality of the ball and the same legs as 20 years ago, you’re not going to create problems for the best player in history.”
Nadal, nicknamed the King of Clay, had been unable to put Djokovic on a roll in trouble.
The two rivals, who have won a staggering total of 46 Grand Slam singles titles between them, embraced at the net after the match before Djokovic applauded Nadal off court.
