In the face of adversity, a cold-minded Nadal: Roland Garros, above all things

Rafael Nadal looks for answers and finds them.

The meaning, however, is not the desired one.

Since he reappeared at the beginning of January in Brisbane, after a year in reserve as a result of an injury and undergoing surgery, the Spanish tennis player has obtained evidence: he wants to but, for the moment, he cannot.

Not at the level he intends.

“With great sadness, I have to withdraw from Indian Wells [first Masters 1000 of the year].

"I have been working hard and I did a test over the weekend, but I am not ready to play at the highest level in such an important tournament," he reported during the early hours of Wednesday to Thursday, thus ruling out his third tournament of the season and prolonging a state of uncertainty that gains volume and reinforces the theory of a farewell that is closer than distant, even though it rebels against all the circumstances.

The days go by, appointments disappear from the calendar and the possibility of him competing again—not of winning, but of “competing,” as he insists in the speech—is becoming more and more resentful.

“My level of tennis is one thing, and the specter of injuries is another,” he said over the weekend in Las Vegas, where he faced Carlos Alcaraz from Murcia in an exhibition.

Translated, the champion of 22 majors came to convey that his will and his body, without any news in the matter, continue to walk independently.

“What I want and what I am going to do is very different,” he commented three weeks ago in statements collected by Cadena Cope.

The sequence corroborates this.

Since he completed a preseason full of ups and downs, his physical condition has not allowed him to regain the flight he lost more than a year ago, when he broke it in Melbourne.

He reappeared in Brisbane, but then he was unable to attend the Australian Open due to a muscle micro-tear, he also did not have enough progress to test himself in Doha and after the break in Las Vegas, another slowdown came with the consequent emotional impact.

Nadal rows against the circumstances with everything he has left, but comes across a revealing succession of events.

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Nadal also resigns from Indian Wells

“Yes, or five years…” he reluctantly joked on Sunday, when a reporter asked him that his length of stay on the circuit is a true unknown.

“This is not starting from scratch but, in the end, I don't have a journey,” emphasized Nadal, who has barely been able to play five matches since January 2023: two in Melbourne and three in Brisbane, where his muscles failed him again.

In this way, the questions surrounding his continuity are expanding and so is the skepticism of the fans, given that today, for many it is difficult to imagine that the Mallorcan is capable of linking two or three consecutive games of high competition, resisting an (official) duel of maximum intensity or that his body will allow him to gain enough training to appear with minimal guarantees on the clay court tour that begins in April, in the distinguished setting of Monte Carlo.

“I would love to play there,” he says.

He speaks, however, without any certainty that this will be the case.

His direction is up in the air.

To begin with, Nadal will return to Manacor and there he will begin preparing for the tour, once he restores the chassis - he suffered a back contracture in recent dates, according to his friend David Ferrer - and meets with his technicians to determine which It is the most appropriate option.

The calendar indicates the Principality as the starting point (from April 7 to 14) and Barcelona (15-21), Madrid (from May 24 to 5) and Rome (8-19) as a preparatory ladder towards Roland Garros (from 26 to June 9).

This time, more than ever, he must select.

Contrary to what you might imagine, clay is not a particularly physical friendly territory, since the matches last longer and the rallies require greater wear and tear;

It is not as damaging to the knees or as potentially dangerous to the joints as cement or grass, but it requires extra pace and fuel that he currently does not have.

Nadal, during his last training session in Indian Wells.JOHN G. MABANGLO (EFE)

The game, as was proven in Brisbane and at times during the

Netflix

bowl against Alcaraz, is still there, practically intact.

It won't be there.

However, any misstep at this point could jeopardize his desire for one last dance in Paris, the quintessential setting for his extraordinary career.

The Olympic Games and everything else are just dressing up.

Heading towards the age of 38 - he will turn 38 on June 3, coinciding with the French great -, Nadal is walking today with leaden feet and a cool mind despite the fact that events are ruining the plan for a more or less goodbye. less programmed, having continuity in the game and feeling like a real competitor.

Bruised from an emotional point of view, the Spaniard is today a sad and angry tennis player with this present that insists on tripping him up again and again;

at every advance, a slap.

“The months and weeks show me a path that is being complicated.

It is an acceptance process that is not easy to handle, and I try to accept it,” he resigns.

He doesn't want to end the trip in a bad way and that's why he opted for the scalpel last spring, one last medical pirouette.

There is always a penultimate attempt for him, no matter how much it is claimed from some corners that his time has come and that goodbye would be the most sensible choice to not continue putting his health at risk.

“Rafa deserves to finish whenever and wherever he wants,” Andre Agassi commented to some Spanish reporters in Las Vegas.

“I just hope his body allows him to do it.

He has demanded a lot from him over the years, and in the end we are all writing checks that can be cashed at some point.

You know, sometimes there comes a time when he no longer listens to us.

But he is smart.

He has experience and I think he can negotiate over a period of time to say goodbye to him on his own terms,” the former number one delved.

Aware of the danger, Nadal now moves his chip without playing and resigns from California in the hope that this last step back can soon guide him towards his sand kingdom.

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