Terrible blow for Rafa Nadal, the data that will occur hasn’t happened in years and gives a big idea about his downfall
Rafa Nadal is going through a very peculiar period in his career. There are so many doubts about the continuation of his wonderful career. The problem is that he can no longer be competitive, he is not even a credible alternative to the strongest players on the circuit.
And, most importantly, he loses matches against tennis players who are not even that competitive. At the Olympics he surrendered without much fuss against Novak Djokovic. There is now a huge difference between the two despite being only one year apart.
Nadal’s main goal was precisely the Olympics, in addition to Roland Garros, the tournament of his heart, the Slam that has given him 14 victories. Needless to say, the Spaniard is the king of clay. There have even been some comparisons to Carlos Alcaraz, a very young phenomenon, but the feeling is that no one will be able to match certain Nadal records.
There is much anticipation as to how much Nadal will actually opt to retire. He had let it be known during interviews at the Olympics that he was fed up on the constant questions about the subject. And that when he makes a final decision, he will make it known to everyone.
There is a dramatic fact concerning Rafa Nadal
Rafa Nadal will end 2024 without having won a match in a Slam. A zero that hasn’t even come since 2002. At that age, of course, he was making his debut on the Tour. In this year, however, he has been very unlucky. After the Brisbane ATP he suffered a muscle problem that forced him to forfeit the Australian Open.
At Roland Garros, Nadal had shown up with every intention of doing well: however, the draw put him in front of Alexander Zverev, the No. 4 seed and at that time one of the fittest on the circuit. And he suffered defeat in the first round. There was Wimbledon, another forfeit to prepare for the Olympic Tournament.
And finally there will be the U.S. Open at the end of August, but Nadal has announced that he will not participate because he is not feeling 100 percent. In short, three out of four waivers and a very bad first round: not exactly lucky for the Spanish tennis player, to put it mildly. It will be very interesting to see how he will approach the season finale and whether he will announce his retirement soon. It is clearly not easy for him who has dominated the world tennis scene for so many years.