Rafael Nadal, who has won the French Open 14 times, has reiterated that he is not guaranteed to play this year.
Andy Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, has accused Rafael Nadal of lying after claiming he is doubtful whether he will be ready to compete at the French Open this year. The Spaniard, who has won Roland Garros 14 times, has struggled with injuries in recent years, but he managed to play four matches at the Madrid Open last month.
“At the beginning of the tournament [in Madrid], he said, ‘If I feel the way that I feel physically right now with confidence, not knowing what I have, I don’t know if I’ll play Roland Garros,'” the former star stated on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast while discussing Nadal.
“I don’t believe that. I believe he is the master of underpromising and overdelivering. During his prime, he’d enter the first round of Roland Garros against someone ranked around 70th in the world and say, ‘I don’t know, it could go any way.’
“I didn’t truly believe that. I honestly believe he works from the mindset of, ‘This may go bad, but I’m going to hustle my way out of it and give my all.'”
Nadal missed every tournament in 2023 following the Australian Open due to a hip injury, but returned to competition at the Brisbane International at the beginning of the year. He was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open in January due to a “micro tear” in his hip, and he spent the next three months out of action.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion went on to play two matches at the Barcelona Open last month before his run in Madrid, where he overcame Darwin Blanch, Alex de Minaur, and Pedro Cachin before being eliminated by Jiri Lehecka in the round of 16.
Nadal declared ahead of his participation in Madrid: “If I arrive in Paris feeling the way I do today, I will not play.” I will not play. I’ll play Roland Garros if I’m feeling competitive. If I can play, I do. “If I can’t play, I won’t.”
And after being knocked out of the competition, he insisted on assessing his fitness after the Italian Open before making a decision on the French Open, saying: “I don’t know what can happen, but now I have four games in Madrid behind me.” This is the reality. Today, I was more muscularly weary, but it was nothing major.
“If my body can handle it well.” I know what might happen, and while it is difficult to foresee great things today, I stand by what I stated the other day: things change rapidly in sports, and I am proceeding with caution. I understand how to do it better. I’ll talk about Paris after Rome. I understand your urgency, and I would like to have a clear picture of what will happen, but I don’t have it today, so I can’t give you more. I hope to be able to play in Rome if there are no obstacles, and I’m going with the intention of continuing to grow.”