PARIS: Rafael Nadal would probably not have played any Grand Slam other than the French Open with the chronic foot injury that needed numbing injections in Paris, the 14-time Roland Garros champion said on Monday.
The Spaniard’s record-extending triumph on the Paris clay earned him an all-time best 22nd men’s singles major with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 crushing of Norway’s Casper Ruud and put him two titles clear of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
It was the ‘most unexpected’ of his French Open titles, Nadal told Reuters on Monday after limping into the scintillating salon of a central Paris hotel.
Asked if he would have played any other Grand Slam with the injury that forced him to have injections to numb his foot, Nadal said: “Probably not”.
“We have been through a lot of emotions. Probably the most unexpected, surprising (title) and all the things I had to do to play the event makes the title one of the most special,” the 36-year-old said.
Nadal said that because of the injury, which also meant he arrived in Paris with no title on the European clay, he was not confident he would be able to fight for the Musketeers’ Cup.
“Of course when you arrive with a poor preparation like I did, every day is a challenge; you need to increase your level of tennis every single day,” he explained.
Nadal has traditionally started his French Open campaigns with at least one claycourt title under his belt but this year got to the French capital empty-handed.
“(Winning those titles) gives you an extra security if you want to reach at least the level you need to fight for the final rounds,” the Mallorcan said.
“This time before the tournament started I didn’t know if I would be able to fight for the second week so I just took it one (round) at a time.”
DEFEAT OF DJOKOVIC
While there was no doubt in his mind that he would take part in the claycourt major, whether he would be capable of gunning for the title was another matter, especially with world number one Novak Djokovic awaiting in the quarter-finals.
“I always had the confidence that I would be able to play because I played with no feeling in the foot, with a foot asleep because of the anaesthetic injections into the nerve,” he said.
“But the problem is not just the match, it’s also the practice. I never thought about not playing here but I thought it would be very difficult to be competitive.”
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In Pics, French Open Final: Maestro Rafael Nadal gives masterclass lessons to pupil Casper Ruud
Show Captions
<p>Rafael Nadal regained his aura of invincibility on clay on Sunday by brutally crushing Casper Ruud to lift the French Open trophy for an incredible 14th time and widen the gap at the top of the men’s all-time list of Grand Slam winners. (AP Photo)</p>
<p>Norwegian Ruud became the latest victim in a long line of challengers who have unsuccessfully tried to defeat the Spaniard in the Roland Garros final since Nadal won his maiden title on the red clay in 2005. (Getty Images)</p>
<p>There was a sense of deja vu as the Spaniard, who turned 36 on Friday, completed a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 thrashing on a balmy afternoon in Paris to maintain his 100% success rate in the championship round at the claycourt major. (Getty Images)</p>
<p>Despite all the trials and tribulations he suffered in the build-up, no one could prevent Nadal from lifting the Musketeers’ Cup for a record-extending 14th time. (Getty Images)</p>
<p>The win means Nadal is now halfway through the calendar Grand Slam for the first time in his career after also winning the year’s opening major at the Australian Open. (Getty Images)</p>
<p>Nadal passed fellow Spaniard Andres Gimeno as the oldest Roland Garros men’s singles champion. The result once again demonstrated that even when he is less than 100% fit, he is still a mountain too steep to conquer on the red clay of Roland Garros. (Getty Images)</p>
<p>The win also gave Nadal a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title and put him two clear of world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Swiss Roger Federer in the men’s race for the most major titles. (Getty Images)</p>
<p>Nadal and Ruud had never played a competitive match before Sunday, but they have hit together plenty of times at the Spaniard’s academy in Mallorca and Ruud earlier said he has never won a practice set against his idol. That record remained unchanged on Sunday. (Getty Images)</p>
<p>Nadal, who is 13 years older than Ruud, made a blistering start as he raced to a 2-0 lead with a superb forehand passing shot securing him the first break of the match. (Reuters Photo)</p>
<p>Nadal’s vicious top-spin forehand soon found its range and he started applying pressure to Ruud’s backhand to secure a break and canter to a 4-1 lead before securing the opening set. (AFP Photo)</p>
<p>Ruud raised his level at the start of the second, saving three break points to hold serve in the opening game and earned praise from his opponent when he charged down the length of the court to reach a drop shot and turned it into a winner. (Getty Images)</p>
<p>The Norwegian soon broke Nadal to love to take a lead for the first time in the match. The break seemed to galvanise Nadal. (AFP Photo)</p>
<p>The Spanish fifth seed wiped out his advantage in the next game and from a 3-1 lead in the second set Ruud did not win another game. (AFP Photo)</p>
<p>Nadal was now fully in the mood to put on a show and he put Ruud out of his misery on his second championship point with a backhand winner down the line, ending the contest in two hours and 18 minutes. (AP Photo)</p>
While he appeared below his best physically at times, Nadal still managed to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in five sets in the last 16 before taking down Djokovic in a four-set thriller.
He had already been on court for more than three hours, sweating like never before, when Alexander Zverev sustained a freak ankle injury that ended their semi-final contest with the Spaniard leading 7-6, 6-6.
While he still does not know what his schedule will look like in the coming weeks, Nadal agreed to cast his mind forward to two years from now, when Roland Garros will host the Olympics after the French Open.
Nadal has won both titles but should he have to choose between the two tournaments in 2024, the French Open would have his preference.
“Roland Garros is part of the history of my career, it’s the most important place in my career and of course the Olympics is the most important event in the world of sports,” he said.
“So it’s difficult to choose but possibly Roland Garros (the French Open) is a little more special for me.”
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