Rafael Nadal loses to Alexander Zverev in French Open first round – NBC New York

Rafael Nadal misplaced within the first spherical of the French Open to Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 on Monday in what would possibly transform the 14-time Roland Garros champion’s final match at his favourite event.

Nadal has indicated 2024 possible can be his final season earlier than retirement, however he stated Saturday that he’s not 100% positive he gained’t play once more on the French Open. And he reiterated that after Monday’s defeat, solely his fourth in 116 profession matches on the place.

When it ended, in anticlimactic vogue, with 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal merely unable to play at his typical stage after 1 1/2 years of hip and stomach accidents, he thanked the raucous Courtroom Philippe Chatrier crowd for the “unbelievable the quantity of vitality” it offered all through the three hours, 5 minutes of play.

“It is tough for me to speak. I do not know (if) it may be the final time I’m right here. I’m not 100% positive,” stated Nadal, whose 1 1/2-year-old son, Rafael Jr., sat on his mom’s lap within the stands. “If it is the final time, I loved it.”

It’s the first time in his lengthy and illustrious profession that Nadal has been overwhelmed in two consecutive matches on clay courts and the primary time he has dropped a match sooner than the fourth spherical on the French Open.

The match was performed with the retractable roof shut, and the loud chants of “Ra-fa!” from most within the capability crowd of about 15,000 echoed.

Nadal turns 38 on June 3 and he has been coping with hip and stomach accidents since January 2023, limiting him to fifteen matches and an 8-7 report for the reason that begin of final yr. His rare play dropped his rating to No. 275 and he was unseeded for the French Open for the primary time.

That’s the reason he ended up going through the No. 4-seeded Zverev, the runner-up on the 2020 U.S. Open, a gold medalist on the Tokyo Olympics and the one man to succeed in the semifinals in Paris every of the previous three years.

Nadal’s different losses at Roland Garros got here towards Robin Soderling in 2010 and towards Novak Djokovic in 2015 and 2021.

“To be trustworthy, I do not know what to say. To start with: Thanks, Rafa, from all the tennis world,” Zverev stated. “It is such an incredible honor. I’ve watched Rafa play all my childhood, and I used to be fortunate sufficient to play Rafa after I grew to become an expert. … In the present day will not be my second. It’s Rafa’s second.”