- Rafael Nadal bravely retired at the French Open after his first round loss.
- Alexander Zverev triumphed 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in a marathon three-hour contest
- Legendary Nadal, 14-time winner in Paris, unlikely to return to Roland Garros
Rafael Nadal lost in the first round of the French Open to Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 on Monday in what could become the 14-time Roland Garros champion’s last match in his tournament favorite. .
It is the first time in his long and illustrious career that Nadal has been defeated in two consecutive matches on clay courts and the first time he has lost a match before the fourth round at the French Open.
His career record in the Grand Slam clay court tournament is now 112-4.
The match was played with the retractable roof closed on the Philippe Chatrier court, and loud cheers for Nadal from the majority of those present, around 15,000 people, echoed throughout.
Nadal, who owns 22 major trophies in total, will turn 38 on June 3 and has been dealing with hip and abdominal injuries since January 2023, limiting him to 15 matches and an 8-7 record since the start of the year. past. His infrequent play caused his ranking to drop to 275th and he was disqualified for the French Open for the first time.
That’s why he ended up facing Zverev, the fourth seed, the 2020 US Open runner-up, a gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics and the only man to reach the semifinals in Paris in each of the last three years.
Nadal has indicated that 2024 would likely be his last season before retiring, but said Saturday that he is not 100 percent sure he will not play at the French Open again. And he reiterated it after Monday’s defeat.
His other three losses at Roland Garros were against Robin Soderling in 2010 and against Novak Djokovic in 2015 and 2021.
