Rafael Nadal was unsure to play at the French Open due to a chronic left-foot injury, but the “King of clay” ended the two weeks in Paris with a record-extending 14th Roland Garros crown.
The 36-year-old Nadal has carved out one of the greatest-ever careers in sports despite persistent injury troubles.
On Sunday, Nadal took his career tally to 22 Grand Slam titles, thrashing Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the final, moving him two clear of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic at the top of the all-time list.
Photo: AFP
Nadal earlier in the week said he would rather have a new foot than another French Open trophy, but vowed to fight on after again lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires.
“I never believed I would be here at 36, being competitive again, playing in the most important court of my career one more time in a final,” Nadal said during the trophy presentation. “I don’t know what can happen in the future, but I’m going to keep fighting to try to keep going.”
The left-foot issue caused Nadal to miss last year’s Wimbledon, US Open and Olympic Games, and he did not return until the buildup to the Australian Open, which he went on to win for the second time.
However, after losing to Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final, the Spaniard had to skip the start of the clay-court season in Monte Carlo and Barcelona with a rib stress fracture.
He returned to home soil for the Madrid Masters, but was knocked out by teenager Carlos Alcaraz before losing to Denis Shapovalov in the Rome last 16.
Nadal arrived in Paris with question marks over his fitness and title credentials, only to come through long matches against Felix Auger-Aliassime, Djokovic and Alexander Zverev on the way to the final.
Whether or not he is back in the French capital next year for a tilt at a 15th title, depends on his troublesome left foot.
“I have what I have there in the foot, so if we are not able to find an improvement or a small solution on that, then it’s becoming super difficult for me,” Nadal said.
Many pundits have consistently predicted Nadal would struggle to enjoy a long career due to his grueling style of play, but he has proved them wrong time and again since.
Nadal’s first injury-enforced absence from the ATP Tour came as a 16-year-old in 2003, when he hurt his elbow in a fall during training and had to miss the French Open.
He has been forced to sit out at least one tournament in every year of his career since.
Nadal has sustained a series of knee and foot injures, as well as hamstring pulls, a wrist-tendon tear and an abdominal-muscle strain, among other issues.
He even played with bandaged fingers after burning himself accidentally at a restaurant in 2011, while he also missed the end of the 2014 season due to appendicitis.
Despite missing so many events, Nadal’s will to win has seen him lift 92 ATP titles and win 1,058 matches on tour.
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