Last week, he was one of the first to land in Paris for the Rolex Paris Masters.
But unlike the main headliners of the tournament, Rafael Nadal had not yet lent himself to the ritual passage in a press conference.
With a big novelty.
It is now “dad” Rafa who speaks.
The Spaniard and his wife Mery have indeed been the happy parents of a little Rafael for just over three weeks.
"That's a lot of changes that you have to adapt to," smiles the man with 22 Grand Slams.
And I've always had a hard time getting used to change!
It has always been difficult to leave home.
But hey, it's interesting.
After knowing him for two or three weeks, it's amazing how much I miss him.
It's a new experience.
You have to adapt to it.
At the same time, we are lucky with technology, video, we can call each other at any time.
A few years ago, I saw players who had children go to tournaments without being able to communicate with them…”
On the banks of the Seine, Nadal navigates a little on sight.
He has not played a single match in competition since his defeat in the round of 16 of the US Open against Tiafoe.
Just a quick double passage in London to celebrate with tears in the eye the farewell of his old accomplice Roger Federer.
At 36, it's tricky for him to make plans for a week in Paris that has never worked for him.
A final lost in 2007 and basta.
One of the rare white lines in his huge list of winners.
“I am no longer fighting to be number 1”
"For old bodies like mine, it's always an uncertainty to see how we're going to get out of it," he slips.
When you play several tournaments in a row, it's easier to know how you feel.
When you've been off the circuit for a while, it's hard to predict how you're going to play, how your body is going to react... It's been a fantastic year in terms of results
(Editor's note: two major titles in Melbourne and Roland-Garros)
, but at the same time it's true that it has been a difficult year in terms of injuries
(Editor's note: in particular a package before his half at Wimbledon)
.
I'm happy to be here, I'm going to do my best and accept how things will turn out.
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Despite a largely truncated season and barely ten events contested, the ATP No. 2 is still in the race to wrest the world throne from his young compatriot Carlos Alcaraz at the end of the Turin Masters.
But for him, this subject does not even exist.
“I understand that this is an important point for you to talk about the fight to be number 1, he says.
But I'm not fighting to be number 1, I'm only fighting to stay competitive in all the matches I play.
I've said it before and I've been saying it for a long time.
I'm not going to fight to be number 1 anymore. I've done that in the past, I've changed.
This is no longer my goal.
Several times in my life, I had the pride to achieve it but now, I am at a point in my tennis career where I no longer want it…”