Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal picks up his third clay-court win of the 2022 ATP Tour season. © Thomas Samson/AFP via Getty Images. ATP Staff May 23, 2022.

But I never expected to be winning 15 Monte Carlos and Romes, so that's the situation today," he added, referencing his 10 Monte Carlo crowns and five Rome titles. "I think I need to improve my movement. I don't know," Nadal added. When you are winning more matches and more tournaments, you have better confidence. But it is a positive start, and that's given me a chance to have one more day of practice tomorrow and then another chance after tomorrow." "It is a good start, of course, straight sets," he said after his 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 victory against Aussie Jordan Thompson. "That's it.

The Spaniard, who'll turn 36 during the French Open, has become the elder statesman tennis desperately needs.

Nadal is also looking to the future, and not necessarily his. After a few days of practice, Nadal took to the court fully aware, he says, that his foot might flare up and he might soon be back in Spain. That includes his physio, Rafael Maymo, a native of Manacor whom Nadal hired in 2006, when Nadal was 20 and Maymo was 26. Like a technician going down to the basement and tinkering, he has added dimensions to his game. In the final, Nadal was the underdog against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, a decade his junior and winner of the previous major. Nadal then won in Acapulco and reeled off five matches in Indian Wells before cracking a rib and losing in the final. He wins more than two-thirds of his tiebreakers and three-fourths of his decisive sets. He was the winner of 20 majors over his gilded career, part of a three-way tie with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for the most of all time in men’s tennis. But to the joy of countless fans—not least, those Mallorcan cliff-diving property squatters—Nadal left his island and got back on the road. This might be the most unlikely chapter in the account of his time on court. And when he did play, he was far from peak Nadal. It played a role in preventing him from winning the French Open for an absurd, mind-bending 14th time. And for a while it looked as if the kids of Mallorca would never again have months of free reign on the property.

Rafael Nadal may have a chronic left foot problem and stress fracture in one of his ribs, but none of it appeared to matter in his first match at Roland ...

McEnroe called Djokovic the favorite on a recent Podcast with me. Nadal, who turns 36 on June 3, would need to win six more matches to capture his 14th Roland Garros title and it won’t be easy. He improved to 106-3 at the event.

Rafael Nadal eased through the opening round of the French Open claiming victory against Jordan Thompson.

What can Rafael Nadal get at the French Open 2022? Amelie Mauresmo talked about the tournament in Paris during an interview with Le Soir, focusing on the ...

The Iberian has become the fourth man in history to have won all Grand Slams at least twice (along with Djokovic, Rod Laver and Roy Emerson). The former world number 1 left everyone speechless at the start of 2022, reaffirming that he is an absolute legend of modern sport. Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner are in the bottom half.