Rafa Nadal: “When the Olympic Games finish, I’ll make the decision I need to”

The scoreline of 6-1, 6-4 may look lopsided but the resilience of Rafael Nadal, despite everything he has gone through, was clear to see. The electronic board behind him sat at 6-1, 4-0 when he did the typical wipe of his brow: left cheek, nose touch, right cheek, nose touch, back of the wrist, front of the wrist. Watch it once and it looks incredibly over the top; watch it one thousand times, with trophy after trophy, and it becomes purely Rafa.

The 38-year-old was being cheered on by the crowd with every shot he took; Novak Djokovic, smelling that elusive gold, touched his ear a few times to gee up the Spanish-supporting fans in the stands, but he knew all along that the victory was his. Nadal, as much as my fingers want to cramp up writing this, is edging closer to the day we, as fans, never wanted to talk about.

“Do you feel it was a farewell to Paris even if the doubles medal remains?” came the question to the two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Will Rafa Nadal retire after the Olympic Games?

“I try to look forward”, Nadal responded, “I gave myself [the time] until the Olympic Games. When they end I will take the decisions I have to take based on the desire I have and my feelings. It is very difficult to recover an optimal level if I am every day thinking about whether or not I retire.”

“Although for many it has made little sense, I’ve been suffering for two years, I’ve had hip surgery, I’ve spent a lot of time recovering and I’m feeling better physically,” he reflected. “If I feel that I am not competitive and I do not have the ability to be competitive, I will make the decision to leave, but I have played very little”.

Nadal explained his defeat in frank terms, calling it “simple” to admit that Djokovic is “a much better player” than him and he “has to accept it.” Nadal also revealed that accepting such a reality was “hard to digest”, but having “the right mindset and attitude” helped to get things back on track mentally.

“I knew there was a chance it was going to be like that. I wasn’t able to play at the level I needed to play at to create problems for him. And Djokovic didn’t give me anything either, he was inspired and I didn’t have the continuous ball quality to create problems for him. I don’t have the legs of 20 years ago either. Without the ball quality and without the legs of 20 years ago, you’re not going to create problems for the best player in history. An easy analysis.”

The hope for a medal is not over, however, as Nadal will team up with Carlos Alcaraz when they go up against the Tallon Griekspoor-Wesley Koolhof pairing in the next round (Tuesday July 30).