PARIS: Novak Djokovic admitted Saturday that when career-long rival Rafael Nadal retires next year “part of me will be leaving too.”
Djokovic shares the all-time men’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles with Nadal but can break that tie by winning the French Open for a third time.
Nadal, the 14-time champion in Paris, is sitting out Roland Garros with a hip injury. With his 37th birthday fast approaching, the Spaniard has admitted that 2024 will likely be his final year on tour.
“When he announced that he’s going to have his last season of his career, I felt part of me is leaving with him too,” said Djokovic.
“It made me think about my career and how long I’m going to play.
“I’m not going to make any announcement today, but just reflecting on it. I felt also a little bit emotional about what he was saying.”
Djokovic holds a 30-29 career edge over Nadal but the Spanish star has been the superior force at Roland Garros with eight wins in the pair’s 10 meetings.
“I don’t like seeing him in the draw of Roland Garros, to be honest,” added Djokovic.
“I have had not so much success against him in our head-to-head. I have managed to beat him twice, but I had to leave my heart and my guts out on the court to achieve that.”
Should Djokovic add the 2023 French Open title to his wins in 2016 and 2021, he will not only break the Grand Slam tie with Nadal in the men’s record books.
He would also go level with Serena Williams’s 23 and be just one short of the overall record for men and women in the sport — the 24 Grand Slams held by Margaret Court.
“It’s no secret that one of the main reasons I play today and compete in professional tennis is to try to break more records and make more history in tennis,” said Djokovic.
“That’s extremely motivating and inspiring for me. History being on the line is something that is very flattering.”
Despite his two titles at Roland Garros, Djokovic insists current world number one Carlos Alcaraz is favorite to add a maiden Paris crown to his US Open triumph.
The 20-year-old Spaniard, 16 years Djokovic’s junior, has titles on clay in Buenos Aires, Madrid and Barcelona this spring.
By comparison, Djokovic failed to get beyond the last eight in any of his clay tournaments with his progress hampered by the recurrence of an elbow injury.
“He’s No. 1 in the world, and he’s a player that won big titles on clay this season. So right now he is the biggest favorite regardless of the fact that he has one Grand Slam and I have 22.”
Djokovic and Alcaraz are seeded to meet in the semifinals of the French Open which starts Sunday.
Alcaraz will start his campaign against Italy’s world number 159 Flavio Cobolli.
Djokovic, meanwhile, will take on 114th-ranked Aleksandar Kovacevic of the United States who will be making his main draw bow at the major.
Djokovic says ‘part of me will leave’ when Nadal quits
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Djokovic says ‘part of me will leave’ when Nadal quits
- Djokovic shares the all-time men's record of 22 Grand Slam titles with Nadal but can break that tie by winning the French Open for a third time
- Nadal, the 14-time champion in Paris, is sitting out Roland Garros with a hip injury
Nadal will only play French Open if he can ‘compete well’
- The 14-time Roland Garros champion conceded that if the action in Paris were to kick off today, he would not be able to participate
- “I will keep fighting and doing the things I believe I have to do so I can try to play in Paris,” Nadal said
MADRID: Rafael Nadal said on Wednesday he will only play at the upcoming French Open if he feels “capable enough to compete well.”
The 14-time Roland Garros champion conceded that if the action in Paris were to kick off today, he would not be able to participate but vowed to keep fighting for the chance to play at his most successful tournament one last time.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next three weeks. I will keep fighting and doing the things I believe I have to do so I can try to play in Paris, and if I can play, I play, if I can’t, I can’t,” the former world number one told reporters at the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
“I will not play in Paris if I am the way I am now. If Paris were today, I wouldn’t take to the court. That’s the reality. I will only play in Paris if I feel capable enough to compete well.”
Nadal returned to tennis in Brisbane in January after spending almost an entire year on the sidelines nursing a psoas injury. But his comeback was short-lived as he sustained a muscle problem in Australia and has competed in just five matches so far this season.
The Spaniard kicked off his clay campaign in Barcelona last week, where he lost in the second round and is set to face 16-year-old American Darwin Blanch in his Madrid opener on Thursday.
“I don’t think I’m ready to play at my 100 percent but I’m prepared to go out and play tomorrow. It’s important for me to play one last time here in Madrid, for me it means a lot,” said the 37-year-old Nadal.
As he attempts to resume his ‘Last Dance’ in Madrid and say goodbye to one of his favorite tournaments on court, rather than on the sidelines, the 22-time major champion admits his farewell tour hasn’t been as enjoyable as he would have hoped.
“A few weeks ago, I didn’t know if I will be able to play again on the professional tour, so today I am playing,” he added.
“It’s not perfect, of course not perfect, but at least I am playing and I can enjoy again, especially in the few tournaments that are so emotional for me. I’m able to enjoy the fact that I can say probably good-bye on court.”
Nadal says he’s hitting the ball well when he is able to be on court but “it’s about more body limitations. I went through a lot of things last year and a half, two years.”
“So body feelings are not enough good to feel myself playing with freedom enough in terms of body issues. That’s not allowing me to compete the way that I would like to compete.”
Saudi Arabia’s PIF signs sponsorship deal with Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament
- Agreement is latest in wider partnership with the ATP
LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced on Friday it had agreed a multi-year deal to sponsor the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament.
The deal is the latest in PIF’s wider tennis partnership with the Association of Tennis Professionals as a Platinum Partner and as the official naming partner of the PIF ATP Rankings.
The fund said the agreement marked its continued investment in growing tennis globally, along with a wider focus on its four sponsorship pillars: inclusivity, sustainability, youth, and technology.
As part of the partnership, PIF will develop a platform to allow tennis fans new and old to engage and train with legendary players and coaches on the ground in Madrid, and youth-focused fan zones.
A statement said: “PIF is committed to providing opportunities for young players across all levels of the game, inspiring participation, enhancing talent discovery and developing new pathways for future generations of tennis players around the world.
“As part of this priority, PIF is engaging local tennis academies in Spain and supporting future players through the PIF tennis bootcamp.”
PIF has also partnered with ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami and the Nitto ATP Finals, in addition to the Beijing ATP 500 event, and the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, to be hosted in Jeddah until 2027.
Defending champion Swiatek sails into Stuttgart quarterfinals
- The top seed will face former US Open champion Emma Raducanu for a place in the semifinals
- Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk saved five match points at 5-4 in the final set to defeat fifth seed Zheng Qinwen of China, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
BERLIN: World No. 1 and defending champion Iga Swiatek progressed to the quarterfinals of the WTA Stuttgart clay court tournament by beating Elize Mertens in straight sets on Thursday, her ninth win in nine career matches at the French Open warm-up event.
Swiatek beat the unseeded Belgian 6-3, 6-4 to maintain her bid to capture a third successive title in the German city and be handed the keys to a third luxury car from the sponsors after also winning the tournament in 2022.
“There’s always space for a Porsche. If not, we’ll make it. I’ll build an underground garage,” said Swiatek after playing her first clay-court match since lifting the French Open title last June.
The Pole burst out of the blocks to set up a 5-1 lead in the first set, before going 0-30 down but recovering to serve out the set.
Swiatek was broken early in the second but served her way back into the set, winning with a forehand on her fourth match point after Mertens had saved the previous three.
“This is not an easy tournament. Everyone is really motivated to win that car,” Swiatek added.
The top seed will face former US Open champion Emma Raducanu for a place in the semifinals.
Raducanu, who helped Britain qualify for the Billie Jean King Cup finals last weekend, took down Czech teenager Linda Noskova 6-0, 7-5.
It will be a first quarterfinal appearance for Raducanu in 19 months. She has been plagued by a raft of injuries since her 2021 Grand Slam breakthrough and missed much of last season.
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk saved five match points at 5-4 in the final set to defeat fifth seed Zheng Qinwen of China, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
World No. 27 Kostyuk will face US Open champion Coco Gauff on Friday for a place in the semifinals.
Elena Rybakina beat Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (7/3), 1-6, 6-4, continuing her strong form in 2024.
The Kazakh world No. 4, who has already claimed titles at Brisbane and Abu Dhabi this year, beat the Russian in two hours 33 minutes.
“I know I have my weapon, my serve. I know I can always serve it out in tough moments. Not always, but this is a strength,” Rybakina said.
Rybakina will be playing in her seventh quarterfinal of the season on Friday where she will face Jasmine Paolini who put out Ons Jabeur 7-6 (10/8), 6-4.
Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova defeated Anastasia Potapova 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 in her last 16 clash.
Nadal loses to De Minaur in second round at Barcelona
- Nadal again looked injury-free on Wednesday but was never in control against the in-form De Minaur, who picked up his second career win over Nadal
- Roberto Bautista Agut rallied to defeat Andrea Vavassori 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to earn his 400th tour-level victory
BARCELONA, Spain: Rafael Nadal’s first tournament since January lasted only two matches with the Spaniard losing 7-5, 6-1 to Alex de Minaur at the clay-court Barcelona Open on Wednesday.
Nadal, back from an injury layoff, looked like his old self for brief moments in the second-round match but couldn’t keep up with the 11th-ranked De Minaur.
“The moment I lost the first set, the match was over,” Nadal said. “I can’t play a three-hour match right now. This wasn’t the place for me to give everything I have. We’ll see what happens in Paris. I want to be competitive there, that’s where I have to give it all.”
Nadal is a 14-time winner at the French Open, which begins next month. He said he will try to play at the Madrid Open next week but didn’t fully commit.
“I didn’t want to take any risks,” Nadal said. “The important thing here was to play and I played. To be on the court is great news.”
The 22-time Grand Slam champion had comfortably defeated 62nd-ranked Flavio Cobolli in straight sets in the first round on Tuesday in what was his first competitive match in more than three months.
Nadal again looked injury-free on Wednesday but was never in control against the in-form De Minaur, who picked up his second career win over Nadal.
It was only his fifth defeat at the Barcelona Open, a tournament he has won a record 12 times.
“It’s natural that this was probably my last match here,” Nadal said. “I really enjoyed playing here. It was unimaginable to win it 12 times.”
Nadal is returning from yet another injury layoff and hadn’t played since an exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz in March. Before this week, he had played only three competitive matches this year — all in Brisbane in January — before skipping the Australian Open.
Nadal also withdrew from Monte Carlo, saying he his body wasn’t ready.
The 37-year old Nadal had hip surgery last summer and said 2024 will probably be his last year playing on tour.
BAUTISTA AGUT’S 400TH
Roberto Bautista Agut rallied to defeat Andrea Vavassori 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to earn his 400th tour-level victory.
The 35-year-old Spaniard is the 13th active player with at least 400 ATP Tour wins.
“To me it’s just a number,” Bautista Agut said. “The important thing is that I’ve done great work over these years, that I’ve had a very consistent career, a career that I can feel proud of.”
OTHER RESULTS
Third-seeded Casper Ruud advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Alexandre Muller, while sixth-seeded Ugo Humbert lost 6-4, 6-4 to Dusan Lajovic.
Ninth-seeded Nicolas Jarry lost 7-6 (5), 6-3 to qualifier Marco Trungelliti, and 14th-seeded Jordan Thompson got past Jaume Munar 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Nadal returns to action with easy win over Cobolli in first round of Barcelona Open
- Nadal, a 12-time champion at the clay-court tournament, said he was never at full strength at the center court named after him, especially when serving
- World No. 8 Andrey Rublev smashed his racket to the ground several times after a 6-4, 7-6 (6) loss to American Brandon Nakashima
BARCELONA, Spain: Taking it easy after months away from competitive tennis, Rafael Nadal was good enough to earn a comfortable first-round win at the Barcelona Open on Tuesday.
Nadal looked injury-free in a 6-2, 6-3 win over Flavio Cobolli to advance to the second round in his first tournament in more than three months.
Nadal converted on his second match point to seal the victory over the 21-year-old Italian ranked 62nd in the world. The Spaniard will next face Alex de Minaur, who had a first-round bye.
“Taking everything into consideration, it was a good first round,” Nadal said. “I played the kind of match that I needed to play. I’m happy for the victory and happy to be playing at home again.”
Nadal, a 12-time champion at the clay-court tournament, said he was never at full strength at the center court named after him, especially when serving.
“I’m not going to do anything that doesn’t make sense right now,” he said. “I’m not going to go out there and serve like crazy. I have to take it easy because that’s what’s needed at the moment.”
Nadal broke serve twice in each set. He finished with eight winners and 22 unforced errors.
Nadal was returning from yet another injury layoff and hadn’t played since an exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz in March. The 22-time Grand Slam champion had last played a tournament in Brisbane in January, when he played only three matches before skipping the Australian Open.
He withdrew from Monte Carlo saying he his body wasn’t ready yet. Nadal is a 14-time winner at the French Open, which begins next month.
The 37-year old Nadal said it will likely be his last time playing the Barcelona Open. The Spaniard had hip surgery last summer and said 2024 will probably be his last year playing on tour.
FRUSTRATED RUBLEV
World No. 8 Andrey Rublev smashed his racket to the ground several times after a 6-4, 7-6 (6) loss to American Brandon Nakashima.
It was the third consecutive first-round defeat for the second-seeded Rublev, who also lost in straight sets in Monte Carlo and Miami. He also lost in straight sets in the second round in Indian Wells.
It was only the second win over a top-10 opponent for the 22-year-old Nakashima, and the first on clay. The world No. 87 had beaten Holger Rune in Shanghai last October.
“I’m still out here competing as hard as I can,” said Nakashima, who reached No. 43 in the world in 2022. “I’m happy with getting my level back to where it was. Playing in front of these crowds and on this court was super special.”
OTHER RESULTS
Also Tuesday, Facundo Diaz Acosta defeated 15th-seeded Borna Coric 6-2, 7-5. Tomas Machac beat Shang Juncheng 6-4, 6-4 to set up a meeting with 11th-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Roberto Carballes Baena defeated Hugo Grenier 6-2, 6-4, while Jaume Munar cruised past Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-1.
