It’s fair to say that Rafael Nadal’s French Open this year did not have the fairytale storyline that many were hoping for.
Nadal put up a spirited effort in the first round against Alexander Zverev, but he was ultimately outmatched by the world number four.
Zverev’s preparation for Roland Garros this year was almost perfect, as he secured the title at the Rome Masters heading into the second grand slam of the year.
Nadal, on the other hand, came into the tournament with well known fitness issues, as he searches for the form which made him practically unstoppable on clay in his prime.
Was Rafael Nadal treated unfairly in Paris?
Nadal’s early exit has caused much discussion over whether such a high profile match should even have possible in the first round.
The 14-time Roland Garros champion’s ranking has dropped massively due to his injury problems, which has meant that he has been unable to play with any consistency for well over a year.
But there has been some debate over whether Nadal should have been given a seeding, given the excellence he has documented on clay over his career.
That discussion was one which Jimmy Connors was keen to bring up on his podcast, Advantage Connors.
But it turns out that Nadal may have been the one to turn down any kind of rule change, which would have given him a seeding in the tournament.
“How should that have been handed?,” Jimmy Connors asked.
“The guy is a 14 time champion at the French. I know he has been riddled with injuries and his preparation wasn’t what it should have been, he pulled out of a number of tournaments and didn’t really have much match play but with his reputation anyway should that not have been handed a bit differently, in terms of giving him some sort of seeding?
Brett then responded: “From what I heard he didn’t want to be seeded, that’s just what I heard. I don’t know if it’s true or not. But it does seem like it would match up to his personality, I don’t feel like he would want ‘charity’ seeding.
“Even though in this case it would’ve worked out in his favour. I feel like he was like ‘look I don’t want to get something I didn’t earn’. I feel like he has earned everything he has had in his career, so he’s not going to start now. But from a fan stand point and a tournament stand point, you wish he was thrown a 32 and doesn’t have to face a top four guy in the first round.”
Will Rafael Nadal play another French Open?
There was some doubt over whether Nadal would ever play again at Roland Garros after this year, but the noises after the tournament have all been positive.
Amelie Mauresmo, the tournament director in Paris, has revealed that Nadal turned down any potential send off.
Novak Djokovic has also predicted that his big rival may well stick around for another year.
And Nadal, himself, has suggested that he is starting to feel more physically capable, which all suggest that he could return to event that he has dominated for so long in 2025, as long as he doesn’t experience any further injury issues.
How has Alexander Zverev got on since?
Zverev remains in contention to win the French Open and is still one of the favourites to take the title.
That being said, it has not all been plain sailing for the big serving German so far.
Zverev came through a second round match against David Goffin fairly comfortably in straight sets, but he found the going far tougher against Tallon Griekspoor in the third round.
Zverev had to come back from two sets to one down, to take the match in a final set tie-break in a five-set thriller.
He now faces Holger Rune later this evening, in what could be another fierce contest.
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