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Nadal's future holds, his legacy's secure
Rafael Nadal
Spaniard clinches 14th French Open title and record-extending 22nd Grand Slam
Paris: Rafael Nadal's status for Wimbledon is in doubt because of a chronic problem with his left foot — as is his future in tennis. What's secure, no matter what happens now, is his legacy.
Nadal got through the French Open, he explained after a dominating 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Casper Ruud in Sunday's final earned a 14th championship at Roland Garros and 22nd Grand Slam title overall, thanks to the help of a series of numbing injections in his foot. That, he says, was a one-time deal.
"I don't want to put myself in that position again," Nadal said after becoming, at age 36, the oldest champion in the history of a clay-court tournament that was first held in 1925. "Can happen once.
But no, it's not a philosophy of life that I want to follow." And he allowed a little insight into what does make him tick. It's not, he said, as he's said before, an all-consuming desire to finish with more major trophies than the other members of the so-called Big Three of men's tennis, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. (Nadal currently stands two ahead of his rivals, who both are at 20.) "It's not about being the best of the history.
It's not about the records. It's about: I like what I do. I like to play tennis. And I like the competition," Nadal said. "What drives me to keep going is the passion for the game, to live moments that stay inside me forever," he added, "and play in front of the best crowds in the world and the best stadiums."
So while he wants to be able to keep going, and would appreciate the chance to play at the All England Club, where the grass-court Slam he has won twice begins three weeks from Monday, he'll only do so if his body permits.
Nadal, who brought a doctor with him to Paris, is going to spend the next week trying new treatments, hoping to find a way to ease the pain in his foot. If that doesn't work, he will need to contemplate having surgery. "Of course, my tennis career has been a priority during all of my life, but never has been a priority over my happiness (in) life. So things are going to keep going that way," he said.
