Health, life without tennis, rivalry with Federer and Djokovic: Nadal discusses retirement
The Spaniard made his views known on Monday evening, when he was awarded the ‘Trofeo Extraordinario’ at Mundo Deportivo’s 77th ‘Gran Gala’.
AI / REUTERS / PANORAMIC
‘Little death’. The end of a career has often been described in this way by professional sportsmen and women. Eternal in the history of tennis, Rafael Nadal experienced his passage into the tennis after-life with peace of mind.
As well as amassing enough trophies to make anyone happy, the Spaniard crossed to retirement in peace. After sweating blood and water trying to get back to a very high level, his body told him in no uncertain terms that he was no longer capable. That the time had come. And that made it easier to accept.
Honoured at a gala evening organised by the trans-Pyrenean sports daily Mundo deportivo at Barcelona’s Palacio de Congresos on Monday evening, the man with 22 Grand Slam titles took to the microphone and answered a few questions.
The last few years of my career were difficult (because of injuries), which helps that I don’t miss it (professional tennis) that much.
‘I’m adapting to the new facets of my life,’ he said. ‘The last few years of my career were difficult (because of injuries), which helps that I don’t miss it (professional tennis) that much. I only retired three months ago, not a year, so I can’t say for sure yet, but for now I’m living it well.’
After repeatedly saying that he was no longer able to train ideally due to pain, the Balearic left-hander opened up about his day-to-day life. And, fortunately for him, the blows inflicted by time and the extreme intensity of the top level have not left him in the state of a punching bag destroyed by Francis Ngannou.
Unlike Juan Martín del Potro, whose daily life has become an ordeal of suffering, the Majorcan was reassuring. ‘I feel a bit of pain, but I don’t push the machine too much any more,’ he smiled. ‘Now I live with just a little bit of pain, which is very important for me. Being able to go up and down stairs normally, living without too much pain, is essential progress.
The importance of his rivalry with Federer and Djokovic
Roger Federer, too, put away his rackets before being forced to use them as crutches. And with lasting effects. Once he had retired from the courts, the Swiss legend explained that he was still suffering from his knee and was continuing to work on it in order, among other things, to be able to indulge in one of his other pleasures: skiing.
If Nadal and Federer ended up so eroded, it’s also because for a long time they were swinging ice axes at each other trying to climb over each other. Just like with Mount Novak Djokovic.
‘It’s hard to choose,’ replied the 38-year-old Majorcan when asked who his toughest rival was. ‘My career is linked to those two (Federer and Djokovic). We’ve pushed each other to become better. It’s true that we’ve taken titles away from each other, but it must also be said that without the other two each of us wouldn’t have achieved as much.’
We pushed ourselves to the limit in every way. Physically, it hurt.
‘We pushed ourselves to the limit in every way,’ he added. ‘Physically, it hurt us, but in terms of our tennis and mental game, it allowed us to reach a higher level of demand, and that’s also the reason why our careers have lasted so long. To the point of making several generations of opponents live through an ordeal.”
Between Nadal’s first Grand Slam title, at the 2005 French Open, and Roger Federer’s last official match, the 2021 Wimbledon quarter-final, only five non-Big 3 men have touched the Holy Grail of a slam title; Del Potro (US Open 2009), Andy Murray (US Open 2012, Wimbledon 2013 and 2016), Stan Wawrinka (Australian Open 2014, French Open 2015, US Open 2016), Marin Čilić (US Open 2014) and Dominic Thiem (US Open 2020).
Over this period, only nine trophies out of 65 contested in Majors have escaped the ‘Fedalovic’ monster. A cerberus – ‘inverted’, which has guarded the gates of heaven and not those of hell – one of whose three heads still has its fangs.
