Rafael Nadal has decided. No more half-assed solutions, no more caution. The 37-year-old tennis player will play “Russian roulette” before the French Open. He himself knows that the risk of injury is huge. But if he is to have at least a minimal hope of the last great triumph, he must go to the edge. He did it in the first duel in Rome.
He has won ten titles at the Foro Italico in the past, but now he accepts the role of an outsider who can only surprise. But only if he gives his absolute best.
In the first round on Thursday, Rafael Nadal toiled hard against the world’s 108th player Ziza Bergs of Belgium.
After almost three hours and sets 4:6, 6:3, 6:4, he found a way to victory.
Also thanks to the spectacular exchange that took the world of sports by storm.
Nadal slipped during it, but he phenomenally got back into the game with a quick back roll and finally won the ball thanks to a precise forehand.
The Spaniard admitted after the match that he had to get rid of the fear stemming from his poor health. He had to accept the risk that his final season on the circuit would end prematurely and he would leave his beloved sport as a wounded, broken man.
“Over the past three weeks, I’ve made some progress. And now the moment has come when I have to put everything into it. I have to push myself to the edge. If something happens, there’s nothing you can do. That’s the truth,” said the twenty-two-time Grand Slam champion after advance to the second round.
There are only sixteen days left until the start of Roland Garros, the Paris Grand Slam, which Nadal has dominated for a record fourteen years.
“There comes a time when I have to prove to myself that I am able to push my body to the limit. I have to feel that I am ready for what is to come. But I am not talking only about Paris, but simply about the next match,” Nadal described.
In the second round, he will face a tough challenge in Rome, a fight with the ninth player in the world Hubert Hurkacz from Poland, whom he will surprisingly meet for the very first time on the ATP Tour.
“There are times when I move quickly. But then again I don’t. I have to get used to taking risks. I feel ready for it,” said the currently ranked 305th player.
He acknowledged that against Bergs it wasn’t the same.
“I didn’t play good tennis, but I found a way to win and that gave me the chance to play again in two days. That’s important for me to keep improving,” Nadal concluded.
He first triumphed at Roland Garros four times in a row between 2005 and 2008. Then even five times in a row between 2010 and 2014.
He added four more titles between 2017 and 2020 and last lifted the famous trophy, the Musketeer Cup, two years ago.
Tags: Video Nadal jumped clay won ball phenomenon plays Russian roulette
-
