Rafael Nadal has revealed he was weeks away from retirement ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, and that he has “never had a fear about that day”.
The 36-year-old battled through the pain to win his 14th French Open earlier in June, and had to receive injections in his foot to keep him going throughout the tournament.
Despite reaching the third round at Wimbledon with four-set wins over Francisco Cerundolo and Ricardas Berankis in the opening rounds, Nadal has looked far from his best as he looks to land his third Grand Slam this year.
There were doubts over Nadal’s Wimbledon inclusion, and the ‘King of Clay’ himself has suggested retirement might not be far away.
“My philosophy is couple of weeks ago I was close to it. Now I don’t feel that way,” he said. “That’s my philosophy, no?
“It’s something that I am not… I never had fear about that day. I think I am happy that I have a very happy life outside of tennis, even if tennis is a very important part of my life for the last 30 years. I have been happy outside of tennis, without a doubt. I have a lot of things that I like to do away from tennis, so I am not worried about that.
“But, of course, when that day arrives, it’s going to be a change. All the changes in this life take a while. You need to adapt to the changes, no?
“But it’s normal that people talk about retirement of the great athletes because in some ways the athletes that have been [around] for such a long time in the top of the game, even more in more popular sports, become part of the life of so many people. Happens to me the same with some football players, with golf players.
“I mean, for example, the person that I love to see, Tiger Woods. Now I’m not able to see Tiger Woods playing that often. In some way, that’s a change in my life, too. Probably people will think the same like me, as a fan, when Roger is not playing, when Novak is not playing, when I am not playing, or when any footballer or basketball [player] are not playing, because they become part of the daily life of the people because they are an inspiration.”
Nadal will face 27th seed Lorenzo Sonego on Centre Court on Saturday as he looks to book his spot in the fourth round.
Source: Eurosport
