For weeks there has been speculation surrounding the future of Rafael Nadal but Tuesday evening in Madrid was the strongest sign yet that the end of his career is near.
Walking onto the court at the Caja Magica, Nadal was greeted by a packed crowd at the Madrid Open despite the time of night. Proceedings didn’t get underway until 10pm with the match finishing just after midnight. In his fourth round match, he faced a highly impressive Jiri Lehecka who never appeared to be intimidated by the circumstances he was playing in as the Czech worked his way to a 6-4, 7-5, victory. In doing so he knocked Nadal out of the tournament and most likely became the last person to ever play the king of clay at an ATP event on Spanish soil.
Despite world No.31 Lehcka being the victor, it was Nadal’s moment. Immediately after their clash ended, a presentation took place in tribute to the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
“This is a difficult day when it arrives, but it’s a reality. My body and my life had been sending me signs for some time,” he said. “I was able to say goodbye playing on this court, one of the most emotional ones for me. Madrid at times has been more important to me than a Grand Slam. The memories here will stay with me forever.”
After his match, five banners were displayed in the stadium with each of them showing a year Nadal won the event. He claimed the trophy in 2005, ‘10, ’13, ‘14 and ’17. Overall, he has won 59 matches in Madrid which is more than any other player in the tournament’s history.
“It’s been a gift what you’ve done for me during the 21 years that I’ve played here,” Nadal said in tribute to his supporters.
“All I can say is ‘thank you.’
Nadal’s dominance on the clay is illustrated by the fact that Lehecka is the lowest-ranked player to have ever beaten him at a Masters 1000 or Grand Slam event held on the surface. It was the first time he had been beaten by a player ranked outside the top 20 on clay since 2016 when he lost to Pablo Cuevas in Rio.
The latest loss is also a victory for him given the recent uncertainty about if he would be fit enough to play in Madrid due to injury problems. Despite those concerns, he produced three consecutive wins over Darwin Blanch, Alex de Minaur and Pedro Cachin.
“Just two days before I left for Barcelona I really didn’t know if I was going to be able to play again in an official match and in the end I’ve played two weeks.” He commented.
As for what is next, Nadal hopes to take his farewell Tour to Rome which is another tournament he has dominated throughout his career. At the Foro Italico, he has won the tournament a record 10 times and was runner-up on two other occasions.
“I don’t know how long (he will keep playing) but I gonna try to play in Rome. That’s another very special tournament in my career,” he explained during his press conference.
“My dream is to play all these tournaments that I had success one more time. I missed Monte-Carlo unfortunately, that is one of the most special for me, but Rome is one I enjoyed a lot playing there.
“I want to play well. I want to be competitive. I want to give myself a chance to play good tennis, and I gonna keep working hard to try to make that happen.
“Today is an unforgettable day in terms of saying, goodbye, Madrid. But my career keeps going, and I have personal goals that I have got in the next couple of weeks, and I want to explore if I have any chance to achieve that.”
Undoubtedly one of these goals will be the French Open which begins on May 26th. 14 out of his 22 major triumphs has been at Roland Garros which will also be the venue of this year’s Olympic tennis tournament. Another event Nadal has his eyes on.
The optimistic 37-year-old now hopes he can capitalise on what has been in his eyes a ‘positive week’ in Madrid.
“I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” he said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with very positive energy.”
Nadal has won 1074 matches so far in his career with 409 of those victories being at a Masters event. In the Open Era, only three other male players have won more matches than him.
