Rafael Nadal had a successful Swedish Open campaign, but questions linger about how good his performances can be ahead of the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
Rafael Nadal has been ruthlessly warned that his finest days are behind him as he prepares for the Paris Olympics.
The renowned Spaniard enters the Games after placing second at the Swedish Open, just days after being told he’ll probably never return to peak form. Nadal, who was hoping for his first championship since the 2022 French Open, was defeated 6-3, 6-2 by Nuno Borges in Bastad Sunday.
Despite coming back to defeat Croatian great Duje Ajdukovic in the semi-finals, Nadal was unable to handle Portugal’s top seed Borges. The setback may have been even more difficult to swallow with recent caustic remarks made by Coco Gauff’s coach, Brad Gilbert.
“He’s probably never going to reach his best level again,” Gilbert claimed in an interview with CLAY. “But, most importantly, I believe that all athletes want to be able to retire on their own terms.
“They want to be and realize, ‘You know what, maybe it’s time for me to stop.'” He’s had so many injuries over the previous two years that he probably hasn’t had a period in which he felt truly healthy, and that’s what he wants to know more than anything else before he retires: what his game is like when he’s fully fit.
Despite not winning, 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal believed his performances in Sweden were good preparation for the Olympics. At 38, this will be his final opportunity to add to his two Olympic gold medals – singles in Beijing in 2008 and doubles in Rio in 2016.
He did, however, concede that five matches in a week had taken a toll on his aged physique. Nadal withdrew from the doubles final, partnering with Wimbledon winner and fellow countryman Carlos Alcaraz.
“I played the final, so that’s good,” he stated after losing against Borges. “I was able to play extended matches without getting injured, which is wonderful. In some ways, I felt like I arrived here to practice much better than I did in the tournament all week.
“That is something I am not happy with. I come here believing that I was playing at a high level, but I was unable to demonstrate this over the week.
“Anyway, it’s a final, so I can’t say it’s a bad result because it’s the first one in a long time.” But I wasn’t able to feel comfortable enough during the week to be satisfied with the tennis I played.”