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An ex-ATP player acknowledges that it would be “extremely sad” if Rafael Nadal met the same end as Roger Federer.
Feliciano Lopez expressed optimism that Rafael Nadal will be able to “say goodbye to tennis in the best way,” acknowledging that it would be “very sad” if he had to quit due to injury like Roger Federer did.
Since the 2023 season began, the legendary Rafael Nadal has played relatively little tennis. Last year, he was limited to just five matches because of a hip flexor injury he had at the Australian Open.
He had surgery that kept him out of the game for the rest of the season after acknowledging that he had failed to recover in time for the French Open the previous year.
It seems likely that 2024 will be his final professional season.
After that, Nadal returned to action at the start of 2024, but he had another setback due to injury, and he hasn’t played on the ATP Tour since the Brisbane International in January because of a muscular issue.
There are doubts regarding his fitness for the two major tennis tournaments in Spain, the Barcelona Open and the Madrid Open, following his sudden withdrawal from this week’s Monte Carlo Masters.
The ATP Masters 1000 Madrid event will take place the week after the ATP 500 event in Barcelona on April 15.
The tournament director of the Madrid Open, Lopez, a former world No. 12 player, is hoping that the legendary Spanish player will participate in the competition.
He was quoted by AS as stating, “The only thing I want is that he recovers as soon as possible and that he can say goodbye to tennis in the best way, which is by playing.”
If Rafael Nadal is unable to take the retirement he deserves from tennis, it will be terribly sad for all tennis fans. It would be extremely tragic if Rafa had to experience that same fate as Federer.
“He seems to be getting better and his injury is changing, so I’m optimistic that he will be able to attend.”
READ MORE: Rafael Nadal discusses his injury following the most recent setback and provides an estimated return date
Big opponent of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, sustained a severe knee injury in January 2020. He returned to play at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2021, but his recovery was never complete, and he was eventually forced to retire in September 2022.
If Rafael Nadal is able to compete in the Madrid Open after recovering completely, it will probably be his last time competing in the competition, which he has won five times.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion fell in the quarterfinal to Carlos Alcaraz in 2022, the guy who many consider to be Rafael Nadal’s heir. That was the player’s final match in the Spanish capital.
In Nadal’s absence, Alcaraz has won the last two Madrid Open championships, but a final between the two is what everybody of Spain is hoping for.
“We are going to go little by little,” Lopez continued. “Obviously, I would like it to be an Alcaraz-Nadal final, if I can choose that.”
