Rafael Nadal 'maybe the most important tennis player of all time' says Mats Wilander after Australian Open withdrawal
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Published 11/01/2024 at 07:39 GMT
Mats Wilander said he hopes Rafael Nadal gets to walk away from the sport on his own terms and while he is healthy after the Spaniard suffered another injury setback that ruled him out of the Australian Open. Nadal was set to feature at the first Grand Slam of the year but sustained a micro tear on a muscle during his third-round defeat to Jordan Thompson at the Brisbane International.
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Eurosport expert Mats Wilander believes Rafael Nadal is not only one of the game’s all-time greats but he also described the Spaniard as “maybe the most important tennis player of all time".
Nadal was part of one of the most heralded eras of any sport as he, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic took tennis to new heights.
Their rivalry has seen them share 66 Grand Slams between them and counting, but time waits for no-one.
Federer has already retired after he was unable to recover from a freak knee injury sustained away from the court, while Nadal’s list of physical ailments throughout his career is long and has been well documented.
The 37-year-old missed the majority of 2023 due to a hip flexor issue that required surgery, before announcing he would be fit to return for this year’s Australian Open.
However, he was forced to withdraw after suffering a small tear on a muscle during his third-round defeat to Jordan Thompson at the Brisbane International.
It sparked fresh concerns that we may have seen the last of Nadal - who admitted that 2024 could be his last year on tour - as an athlete who is able to compete at the highest level over five sets for the duration of the sport’s marquee events.
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But whatever happens, Wilander hopes the 37-year-old gets to walk away on his own terms like the legends before him that have already hung up their racquets.
“We want him to be able to say farewell, of course. I'm not really sure what that farewell is supposed to look like,” Wilander said.
“Obviously, we had maybe one of the greatest farewells ever with Roger Federer at the Laver Cup in the O2 Arena. It wasn't unexpected that he was eventually going to say farewell but it wasn't a very serious day of tennis.
“He got to play doubles with Rafa Nadal, he lost against the American team and it was just a happy day, even though Federer lost. It was on his terms in a way. Yes, he was injured, but he just got older.
“We had the farewell of Serena Williams a couple of years ago at the US Open, which was amazing. She filled the stadium she beat Annett [Kontaveit] in.
“Maybe we won't get the same farewell. For me, all I really want to see from Rafa Nadal is that he says farewell when he wants to say farewell, not when he's forced to say farewell, and I think at the moment the injury world is not being very kind.”
Nadal’s career has seen him achieve all there is to achieve in the men’s game, but nowhere has he had more success than at Roland-Garros.
Dubbed the ‘King of Clay’, the Spaniard has racked up 14 French Open titles from 14 finals and has lost just three matches in 115 at the iconic event.
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It’s a record Federer, who lost in four finals to his long-time rival at Roland-Garros, described as “one of the greatest achievements in sport".
In an ideal world, Wilander says it would be the perfect location to bring the curtain down on the career of a player he believes has done more for the sport than anyone else in history.
“I think it would be nice to see him healthy, maybe come to the French Open, play one more time, maybe win a couple of matches and lose to somebody that he deserves to,” Wilander continued.
“Lose to a younger player, or maybe a colossus, maybe Novak Djokovic. But we're hoping for miracles, and the miracles might not happen.
“To see him play one more time in Brisbane was brilliant, to see the passion, to see him sweating like nobody else. I think that's the memory that I will have with Rafa, not the press message which says that, ‘Unfortunately, I have to pull out of the Australian Open’.
“I'm not looking at that. I'm looking at the last image of Nadal with him sweating, missing match points in Brisbane against Jordan Thompson. That's my memory.
“He's one of the greatest players of all time, and maybe the most important professional tennis player of all time.”
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