"This one is going to be the hardest" - John McEnroe on Nadal potentially winning Wimbledon

Saturday, 25 June 2022 at 04:00

Updated at Friday, 13 December 2024 at 21:07

byZachary Wimer

John McEnroe was in person in Paris to watch Rafael Nadal march to a 14th Roland Garros trophy, and he spoke about the Spaniard's chances at the Wimbledon Championships.

McEnroe had a first-row seat in Paris to watch Nadal make history, and he emphatically declared that "this will never ever happen again." It's hard to argue against that because not many players played 14 Grand Slam finals, let alone won so many and let alone won one trophy 14 times.

Speaking about what he saw in Paris, McEnroe admitted that winning Wimbledon will be much harder than Roland Garros or the Australian Open.

"Rafa’s toughest one is going to be this one for me because if you go by what he said at the French Open, he was injecting himself on his foot during some, if not all of his matches."

— McEnroe on Nadal in Paris<br>

"I can’t believe you decided not to do that. I’m not sure how he did it in the first place, and he’s still able to win seven matches and look incredible, right? The guy looked amazing."

McEnroe also shared his own opinion on Nadal's injections, which made it possible for him to compete, saying that if he was Nadal, he would continue using them because it clearly helped him.

Read also

Auger-Aliassime shocks Nadal in his last match before Wimbledon

Nadal himself openly admitted that he won't be doing that again, opting for a novel treatment for the pain instead.

"If I’m 36, I don’t know how much longer I’m going to play, going for the Slam, I’d start shooting that foot up again and get through Wimbledon and the Open. That would be me."

— McEnroe on Nadal injections<br>

"He may be able to play a few more years. He also talked about wanting to be able to walk when he has kids. That’s a risk that no athlete wants to take."