Rafael Nadal has cooled speculation that he is set to retire in the near-future, by insisting that he will ‘keep fighting’ in order to return to compete at the French Open next year.
The Spaniard has fueled rumours of retirement throughout the last fortnight by referring to his run to the final as his ‘final matches’.
Nadal beat Casper Rudd [6-3, 6-3, 6-0] in today’s final to win his 14th French Open title and to take his Grand Slam record to 22 wins.
Speaking to the crowd afterwards, Nadal initially sounded as though he was making somewhat of a farewell speech by once again referring to his ‘final matches’.
But Nadal was given huge cheers when he told the buoyant crowd that he would ‘keep fighting’ in order to return in 2023.
‘It takes a lot of energy to keep going. I want to say “merci, merci beaucoup”‘, said Nadal.
‘I don’t know what will happen in the future but I will keep fighting to keep going.’
Nadal has long suffered with a foot problem called Mueller-Weiss syndrome, which saw him miss the majority of the 2021 season.
The Spaniard thought his time at the top was over and there’s even suggestions that he will pull out of Wimbledon in order to give himself the necessary recovery time in order to keep the condition at bay.
John McEnroe believes Nadal would be foolish to call time on his career now and says no player will ever dominate one slam in the fashion the Spaniard has at Roland Garros.
‘This will never, ever, ever happen again in our sport that one male or female player is going to win that many of these events,’ said McEnroe.
‘So enjoy it while we can because he’s been giving sort of signs that maybe he isn’t going to play anymore, possibly.
‘I don’t know if that’s true but it sounds like conceivably it’s going to be his last match. He’s talked about not playing Wimbledon – why wouldn’t he play Wimbledon if he’s won the Australian and the French?
‘He’d be going for the Grand Slam. So, we’ll see.’
MORE : Rafael Nadal wins 22nd Grand Slam title by beating Casper Ruud in French Open final
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