Nadal 'Can Win Roland Garros Next Year' Despite Recent First-Round Loss Says Mouratoglou
ATPSunday, 16 June 2024 at 13:02
Noted tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou is sure that Rafael Nadal can win the Roland Garros in 2025, even with the early loss this year.
The Spanish legend lost in the first round of Roland Garros for the first time in his life this year. The draw was very unfavorable for him, giving him Alexander Zverev, a player who made the Roland Garros final this year.
As expected, Zverev was a bit too strong for the Spaniard, beating him in three sets, but at times, Nadal looked decent in that match. Another thing that didn't help the 14-time champion was the conditions, which were indoors, fairly humid, far from what he likes them to be.
None of that helped Nadal, as Mouratoglou pointed out in his Instagram post, in which he analyzed the match between the two.
"Everybody thought, oh, that’s the last match of Rafa or it’s clear now that he cannot compete at that level; all these statements are completely wrong. I saw the opposite. I saw someone who’s now feeling great, because he knows he can still compete at that level. I think this match against Zverev made him feel that he can compete at the highest level."
"Of course, he lost it, he lost in three sets. But considering the short time that he had to practice, considering the lack of competition that he has, the quality of the tennis he was able to produce – not consistently the whole match, that’s why he lost, he had a lot of ups and downs which is something that he generally doesn’t have – but the quality of the tennis he was able to play, his movement and everything, I think he feels now that he can compete at the highest level."
Nadal will be back on those courts soon with the Olympics. If what Mouratoglou anticipates happens, then we'll see a good Nadal who will firmly squash any retirement talk.
And then, with more tennis and more preparation, anything is possible in 2025. After all, he was pretty content with what he saw from in conditions that were pretty terrible for him.
"Don’t forget that the conditions he had against Zverev were the worst for him. Indoors, he is really far from his best level; it was very, very humid so the ball was not bouncing. For his spin it’s not great."
"If he would have played the match outdoors with a big sun and hot it would be different also. In the Olympics you will have those conditions because it’s going to be a few weeks later. I think if he does well at the Olympics he is going to is potentially win Roland-Garros next year. He can for sure."
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