Nadal eyes Olympics but not Wimbledon after likely French Open farewell

Rafael Nadals recordbreaking French Open career came to its likely end on Monday when the 14time champion slumped to a demoralising defeat against Alexander Zverev before he revealed his journey to the Paris 2024 in July will not take a detour to Wimbledon Nadal who turns 38 on June 3 went down 63 76 75 63 in the first round to world number four Zverev suffering only his fourth loss in 116 matches at Roland Garros since his 2005 titlewinning debut It was the first time he had been defeated in Paris in the opening round and will again lead to questions over his longterm future in the sport I dont know if its the last time Ill be here in front of all of you he said If it is then you have been amazing The feelings I have today are difficult to describe in words It is the place I love the most He added Its hard to say about the future I am travelling with my family and I am having fun The body is feeling better than it did two months ago Maybe in two months I say its enough That is something I dont feel yet Nadal may not return for the 2025 French Open but he still plans to play the Olympics at Roland Garros in July Nadal an Olympic singles gold medallist in Beijing in 2008 and doubles champion at the Rio Games later told reporters Thats my main goal now I need to prepare myself the proper way to try to arrive healthy and wellprepared He wont make the rankings cut for Paris 2024 but as a Grand Slam winner he would be eligible for a spot reserved for major winners Plagued by injuries which had limited him to just four events since January last year former world number one Nadal is now 275 in the rankings and was unseeded in ParisAlso Read Spaniard Rafael Nadal accepts challenge of being an underdogMy body has been a jungle for two years You dont know what to expect You know I wake up one day and I found a snake biting me Another day a tiger said Nadal of his recent battles with a hip injury In his career he has had to skip 11 Grand Slams That is certain to become 12 next month when he is likely to skip Wimbledon where he was champion in 2008 and 2010 It looks difficult to make a transition to grass having the Olympics again on clay he said I dont think its going to be smart after all the things that happened to my body now make a big transition to a completely different surface and then come back immediately to clay I dont think its a positive idea right nowZverev said it had been a great honour to play Nadal on 11 occasions in their careers Ive watched Rafa play all my childhood and I was lucky enough to play him two times on this beautiful court Today is not my moment it is Rafas moment said the German star In a repeat of the 2022 semifinal which Nadal won when Zverev quit with ankle ligament damage the Spaniard had his chances He was a break of serve up in the second and third sets only to be pinned back on both occasions by his inform 27yearold opponent However a relentless Zverev broke six times from 18 opportunities and fired 44 winners to Nadals 34 Chants of Rafa Rafa had loudly echoed under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier which was shut tight against the torrential rain sweeping across the grounds and bringing havoc to the schedule They subsided to silence when Nadal was broken to love in his opening service game and he was left to regret his inability to convert two break points in the fourth game Nadal saved two set points in the ninth game but surrendered the opener after 50 minutes when he buried a loose forehand into the net It was only the fourth opening set he had lost at Roland Garros Nadal broke for the first time in the match to lead 32 in the second set but couldnt back up the advantage and handed the break back to threetime semifinalist Zverev as he served for the set A tense tiebreaker followed which the German claimed buoyed by stretching to 53 on the back of a gruelling 19shot rally Nadal dug deep and with the likes of Novak Djokovic Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek having watched from the packed stands he broke and held for 20 in the third set However Zverev again roared back to level at 22 before a besieged Nadal had to save four break points in a 13minute fifth game to stay in contention The effort was too much and a composed Zverev was soon 43 up and the match was over when Nadal fired a forehand wide and longWith AFP inputs