Absent from the circuit since January 18 and his defeat against American Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal has summoned the media to a press conference to be held this Thursday at 16 p.m., at his academy in Manacor, Balearic Islands. The Spanish media, including Marca, are already announcing a forfeit for Roland Garros. It would be an earthquake if the one who has always played the Parisian tournament since 2005 and won it 14 times did not come to defend his title.
The Nadal clan had wanted to be reassuring, his uncle, Toni Nadal, was convinced of his participation. Yet he had put in place as many things as possible to be back in time. But at almost 37 years old, Nadal has not played an official match since his hip injury at the Australian Open in January. And if he summoned the media this Thursday, it is certainly not to announce that he has just booked his flight to Paris.
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His absence would obviously be very bad news for all tennis lovers and for the organizers. The latter should nevertheless count on the presence of Novak Djokovic, even if the Serb is not at his optimal level. He was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Rome on Wednesday by Holger Rune.
