"He's going to win much more than one Grand Slam title" - Nadal backs Zverev for successful future
ATP
Rafael Nadal heaped praise on his 2022 Roland Garros semi-final opponent, Alexander Zverev, after the German's unfortunate retirement.
The semifinal match at the 2022 Roland Garros between Zverev and Nadal didn't end in a way that anyone would like it to end as the German player was forced to retire due to an ugly injury.
Nadal knows a lot about injuries himself, and he was very complimentary of his opponent after their meeting. So far, the German played in one Grand Slam final at the 2020 US Open, where he lost to Dominic Thiem in the final.
Now, he could have reached another one, but his semi-final match in Paris ended in the worst possible way. After the match, Nadal had only good words about his opponent.
"Very sad for him. Honestly, he was playing an unbelievable tournament. He's a very good colleague on the court. I know how much he's fighting to win a Grand Slam, and right now, he was very unlucky."
According to Nadal, Zverev will be able to win Grand Slam titles in the future. The 21-time major winner was confident enough to say that the German player won't win only one, but multiple majors in his tennis career.
At the same time, the Spaniard wished Zverev a quick recovery, as his journey began immediately after the semi-final match when medical checks revealed that he had torn lateral ligaments in his right foot.
"But I know he's going to win, not one, but much more than one so I wish him the very best and a quick recovery."
The rest of Zverev's season is now in jeopardy, but he can certainly take plenty of confidence from this year's Roland Garros despite how it ended. He went toe-to-toe with the greatest clay-court player of all time, and Nadal even predicted him to win majors in the future.
