PARIS: Rafael Nadal was in black-and-white practice gear, he was leaning on the grayscale, but that was all the vintage the 14-time Roland Garros champion sparked on an afternoon when the sun was in the shade. The 37-year-old’s shots were short of signature crackle and his stride was a mite slow. Nadal enters the Paris Grand Slam following an anemic match schedule courtesy a hip injury that kept him off his beloved terre battue last year for the first time after 18 consecutive appearances.
The Spaniard played four matches in 2023 and has logged just four tournaments in 2024. Nadal, bidding to finish a storied career on his terms, at the very least end where he started it on the tennis court, will go up against the fourth-ranked German Alexander Zverev in the first round on Monday. He’ll need to blast off the blocks.
So, where exactly is Rafael Nadal, on a competitive scale? He is ranked outside the top-250 at No 276, but that, in this case, is just a number against a name. Not a measure of the legend. Nadal, who arrived in Roland Garros more than a week before the start of the fortnight, said he’s feeling better than he has in a long time on the tennis court.
“This is the first week since I come back that I’m able to run the proper way without having a lot of limitations. That has encouraged me,” said Nadal, who arrived for his pre-championship media interaction in an electric blue tee and a smile to match. “That does not mean that I'm going to play incredible o.
