Rafael Nadal's record-breaking French Open career came to a likely close after a first-round loss to Alexander Zverev.
The Spanish legend is likely to skip Wimbledon in July, focussing instead on the Paris Games.career came to its likely end on Monday when the 14-time champion slumped to a demoralising defeat against Alexander Zverev before he revealed his journey to theNadal, who turns 38 on June 3, went down 6-3, 7-6 , 6-3 in the first round to world number four Zverev, suffering only his fourth loss in 116 matches at Roland Garros since his 2005 title-winning debut.
Nadal, an Olympic singles gold medallist in Beijing in 2008 and doubles champion at the Rio Games, later told reporters: “That’s my main goal now.He won’t make the rankings cut for the Olympics, but as a Grand Slam winner he would be eligible for a spot reserved for major winners. 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 the prestigious“It looks difficult to make a transition to grass, having the Olympics again on clay,” he said.
In a repeat of the 2022 semi-final, which Nadal won when Zverev quit with ankle ligament damage, the Spaniard had his chances. 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.
A tense tie-breaker followed which the German claimed, buoyed by stretching to 5/3 on the back of a gruelling 19-shot rally.
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