Spanish veteran tennis participant Rafael Nadal exited what is perhaps his last French Open to a wave of affection and assist after a first-round defeat by Alexander Zverev, expressing his hope to return to Roland Garros for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“I hope to see you again, but I don’t know,” Nadal informed an ecstatic crowd after his straight-sets loss on Monday. “There’s a big percentage that I will not be back here, but I am not 100% sure. I hope to be back on this court for the Olympics; that motivates me.”
It would be the third time since his debut at Roland Garros in 2005 that Nadal, whose physique has been martyred by 23 years {of professional} tennis and who left the match with a crushed foot after his record-extending 14th title two years in the past, doesn’t get to rejoice his June 3 birthday in Paris.
The French, who are inclined to arrive on Court Philippe Chatrier fashionably late on the again of an extended lunch, skipped espresso and digestif to fill the world earlier than the king, racket in hand as typical, stepped onto the court docket to deafening roars.
Spain’s Nadal caught to his routine, avoiding the strains and crossing them along with his proper foot, sprinting to the baseline throughout warmup, and positioning his two bottles diagonally aimed on the court docket.
On a wet day in Paris, organizers closed the roof, including to the intimacy of the second.
On a court docket he is aware of like nobody else, Nadal struggled to seek out his mark early on, netting a routine drop shot and serving a double fault to provide Zverev the opening sport.
The German, who after profitable the Rome Masters was the worst potential draw for Nadal, saved his foot on the gasoline pedal to take the primary set, even when the Mallorcan confirmed glimpses of his finest with a few spinning forehand winners down the road.
As quickly as Zverev eased the stress, nonetheless, Nadal transformed his first break level to take a 3-2 lead within the second set.
“Rafa! Rafa!” went the group once more, as world No. 1s Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic, in addition to fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, joined the celebration.
Nadal served for the set, however Zverev leveled and compelled a tiebreak, which he comfortably gained.
There was one other break for Nadal within the third set, and a few “I-can-still-do-it” fist pumps after a couple of jaw-dropping winners, however two years after Zverev left their semifinal match in a wheelchair with a damaged foot, the German was too good this time.
There was a way of anticipation on the morning of the Nadal-Zverev conflict as Swiatek, gunning for a fourth title right here, kicked off her marketing campaign with a 6-1, 6-2 demolition of French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean.
Swiatek has now gained her final 15 matches in Paris following her back-to-back wins in 2022 and 2023.
Coco Gauff additionally made a powerful begin, dispatching German Julia Avdeeva 6-1, 6-1 for her fiftieth Grand Slam match victory.
The 20-year-old American, who gained the U.S. Open final yr to interrupt her Grand Slam duck, is trying to declare her first French Open title after dropping the 2022 last in Paris.
Sixth seed Maria Sakkari crashed out of the primary spherical as Russian-born Varvara Gracheva, who now represents France, got here again from a set right down to safe a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.
In the boys’s draw, Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, who suffered a shock first-round exit eventually yr’s French Open, ensured an extended keep at Roland Garros this time round with a 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win over Germany’s Dominik Koepfer.
Medvedev had leaned on his serve and a slew of photographs to comfortably seize the primary two units earlier than a decided Koepfer all of a sudden stepped up his sport.
Koepfer got here again from an early break down within the third set, the place Medvedev’s bid to pressure a tiebreaker was thwarted when the German broke serve to seize the set.
Koepfer then double-faulted to reward the Russian a break to open the fourth set however bought again on serve at 3-3, just for Medvedev to shut out the day’s last match on Court Simonne-Mathieu by profitable the subsequent three video games.
In different males’s motion, Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, seeded second, downed American Chris Eubanks in straight units, similar to former runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas did with Hungarian journeyman Marton Fucsovics.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
