Rafael Nadal made his conditions for competing in the French Open very clear after earning a significant win over world No. 11 Alex De Minaur in Madrid. Despite proving that he could still compete with the best, the 14-time Roland Garros champion made it clear that he wouldn’t play in Paris if he didn’t feel physically ready to last the entire tournament. It means that his fans may have already seen him at the tournament for the last time.
At the beginning of the week in Madrid, Nadal revealed that he could skip the French Open this year. “If I arrive in Paris like I feel today, I would not go on court. I will not play. I will play Roland Garros if I feel competitive. If I can play, I play. If I can’t play, I can’t,” the 37-year-old said on Wednesday.
Since then, the former world No. 1 has proven he can still compete with the best players. After dispatching 16-year-old wildcard Darwin Blanch in the first round, Nadal sent 10th seed De Minaur packing on Saturday with a 7-6(6) 6-3 victory. It was arguably the best match of his comeback so far as he appeared more aggressive and managed to hit more winners, also improving his serve after his past struggles with abdominal pain.
His performance against De Minaur provided some encouragement that he could be ready for next month’s French Open. But Nadal has now explained that he will not compete if his body won’t hold up for the whole fortnight.
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