Tim Henman has tipped Rafael Nadal to continue playing with the calendar Grand Slam on the line despite recently fuelling retirement talk. The Spaniard’s storied legacy continued to grow after he captured a record-extending 22nd major title at the French Open on Sunday.
After three successive matches where he was pushed to his limits by Felix Auger Aliassime, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev, the world number four produced arguably his best performance of the year to defeat Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in yesterday’s final. Two days after his 36th birthday, Nadal received the perfect gift as he lifted the coveted La Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy aloft for the 14th time.
With the victory, the tennis legend has now won both the Australian and French Opens in the same year for the very first time. He is now halfway to the coveted career Grand Slam, and Henman believes the icon will be keen to try and sweep all the majors this year.
"When you have won as much as he has, you just never know what's around the corner,” the Brit told Europsort . "I think he has been very frank, and very honest, to say that he doesn't know if he is going to be back here. But when you see a performance like that - he's 3-1 down in the second set, he wins 11 games in a row - it was just another clay-court masterclass.
"You would have thought that when he wins these big titles - don't forget he's won the Australian Open, the French Open, now you can talk about the Grand Slam being on - surely it is going to motivate him to keep on going.
"That's what we are keeping our fingers crossed for because it's a privilege to see one of the greatest champions in our sport playing like that." Nadal delivered his 119th bagel on the ATP Tour in the final set, and played a brand of aggressive and clinical tennis that was simply too much for Ruud, who contested his first grand slam final, to handle.
Following yet another win on Court Philippe Chatrier, the Spaniard revealed his triumph in Paris was one of the most emotional and important victories of his career. "For me having this trophy next to me again means everything. [It] has been [an] emotional victory, without a doubt. Unexpected in some ways. [I am] very happy," Nadal said in his post-match press conference.
"[It] has been a great two weeks. I played from the beginning, improving every day. Finishing [by] playing a good final. [I am] super happy and can't thank everybody enough for the support since the first day that I arrived here. [It is] very emotional."
Nadal’s record has now improved to a staggering 112-3 record at the clay-court major and revealed his attention will turn to the hallowed grass courts of Wimbledon if his body allows him to do so. "I'm going to be in Wimbledon if my body is ready to be in Wimbledon. That's it," he stated.
"Wimbledon is not a tournament that I want to miss. I think nobody wants to miss Wimbledon. I love Wimbledon. If I am able to play with anti-inflammatories, yes; to play with anaesthetic injections, no. I don't want to put myself in that position again."
