Rafael Nadal dismisses Alexander Zverev French Open prediction: 'I don't think about retirement'
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Updated 14/01/2023 at 11:13 GMT
Retirement rumours have surrounded Rafael Nadal into his thirties partly due to his own fitness problems, but also because former rivals such as Andy Murray and Roger Federer have faded from view in their own way. Responding to predictions from Alexander Zverev that he would retire after Roland-Garros, he denied he had any plans to step away from the sport.
'Sadly retiring!' - Zverev predicts Nadal to step away after French Open in 2023 predictions
Rafael Nadal has dismissed predictions from Alexander Zverev that he will retire after this year’s French Open.
Nadal is a Roland-Garros legend after winning in Paris 14 times, including last year when many were suggesting that injuries and age were taking their toll on the 36-year-old former world No. 1.
He also won in 2020 and 2019 before then, showing that his experience at least was enough to compete with the best on the court, but he has nevertheless missed more of the season in recent years than he would like, and last year he suggested that he would further be curtailing his involvement on the professional circuit.
Speaking towards the end of 2022, he said he would probably not be making any further appearances in Mexican tournaments, leading to speculation that he was implying he would be retiring in the near future.
Alexander Zverev had also told Eurosport in a 2023 predictions video along with brother Mischa that for his bold prediction for the year he believed that, “Unfortunately, I think Rafa will retire at Roland Garros.”
He added: “I don’t want it to happen, but I think he will have a great tournament, potentially win it and say goodbye.”
In a press conference ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne, an event that Nadal has triumphed in twice, in 2009 and last season, Nadal denied that he had plans to retire in the next half-year, nor was he considering retiring from the sport at all.
"I don't know what's going to happen in six months. I have a very good relationship with Zverev, but not enough to confess something like that to him. The reality is that I'm here to play tennis, try to have a great 2023, fight for everything that I have struggled throughout my career and I don't think about my retirement.
“You think about it week after week because that's how you show me at every press conference. But I will answer the same every time you ask me".
Nadal’s potential retirement is the focus of attention for many fans and players in the game, following fellow Big Three legend Roger Federer’s decision to quit the sport last year.
That leaves Nadal and Novak Djokovic as the most successful veterans, with erstwhile rival Andy Murray no longer the same force after battling with his capabilities after two surgeries on his hip. The emergence of Carlos Alcaraz as the current No.1 also increases the competition on Nadal and other experienced players after years without facing credible challengers.
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