"Maybe Rafa will retire after he wins 22nd Grand Slam title" claims Kafelnikov
ATPThursday, 02 June 2022 at 08:00
Updated at Saturday, 28 December 2024 at 18:39
Yevgeny Kafelnikov thinks that Rafael Nadal might retire after winning his 22nd Grand Slam title at the 2022 Roland Garros.
Nadal was victorious in the quarter-final match against Novak Djokovic on the Parisian clay. The Spaniard proved to be better than his rival, and thanks to a four-set win, he will take on Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals of the competition.
The 1996 Roland Garros winner, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, spoke with SportKlub about the quarter-final match between Djokovic and Nadal, praising the Spaniard for his body language.
"From the first point, Nadal's body language showed that it would be difficult for Novak to beat him. To win over Rafa like this, he had to play not at 100 percent, but at 150 percent of the possibilities. From the first game in the match, Nadal was sharpened and ready for battle."
"He had to play that way if he wanted to win - to be on the field, aggressive, to try to dictate points. When you play like that, you make a lot more mistakes. On the other hand, Rafa acted extremely physically, which surprised me a lot."
"I won't say that he was fresher, but physically at Novak's level in that match. Djokovic realized that he would have to play at the upper limit of his chances if he wanted to win."
Kafelnikov also suggested that this might have been the last meeting between the two legends. According to Kafelnikov, Nadal could retire after winning his 22nd major, even though he is still two matches away from doing that.
"Maybe this is the last time they will play against each other. Maybe Rafa says on Sunday that he is retiring after the 22nd Grand Slam title, maybe he says ‘this is it, see you in the next life’. Obviously, Novak felt the weight of the duel much more on his shoulders. I hope they both continue, but you never know."
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