Spaniard says Roland Garros is the most important place in his career
Spain's Rafael Nadal speaks during an interview after winning the men's singles French Open title in Paris, France, on June 6 2022. Picture: REUTERS/BENOIT TESSIER
It was the “most unexpected” of his French Open titles, Nadal told Reuters on Monday after limping into the scintillating salon of a central Paris hotel. Asked if he would have played any other Grand Slam with the injury that forced him to have injections to numb his foot, Nadal said: “Probably not”.
“Of course, when you arrive with a poor preparation like I did, every day is a challenge; you need to increase your level of tennis every single day,” he said. “This time before the tournament started I didn’t know if I would be able to fight for the second week so I just took it one [round] at a time.”While there was no doubt in his mind that he would take part in the clay-court Major, whether he would be capable of gunning for the title was another matter, especially with world No 1 Novak Djokovic waiting in the quarterfinals.
While he appeared below his best physically at times, Nadal still managed to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in five sets in the last 16 before taking down Djokovic in a four-set thriller.
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