Rafael Nadal Reveals the Importance of Winning Titles Before French Open

World No. 3 Rafael Nadal didn’t have a great start to his clay-court season. He lost to Andrey Rublev in the quarters of the Monte Carlo Masters 2021 after not playing very impressive tennis. However, he is all set once again and will begin his Barcelona Open 2021 campaign tomorrow.

In a recent interview, Rafael Nadal mentioned that it is important for him to win clay-court tournaments before the French Open 2021. He even revealed the reason for the same.

“Well, I want to win events before because I like to win events, and events are super important for me,” began Nadal. “You can win Roland-Garros winning events before, and you can win Roland-Garros without winning events before. Of course, it’s easier to win Roland-Garros when you are winning events in a row before.”

Rafa expressed that it is a lot easier to win the French Open title if one has already performed well on clay. He highlighted that he is almost 35, and it’ll be challenging for him now to perform with the same energy.

“At the same time, I am close to 35 and the situation is a little bit different,” added Rafa.

Rafael Nadal discloses his main goal before playing at the French Open 2021

In the same interview, the Spaniard disclosed his main goal before playing at the upcoming Roland Garros. He emphasized that he wants to play as many tournaments as possible to give himself more chances of winning.

“The main goal for me is just put myself in a chance position. That’s the real goal for me. I want to give myself chances to be competitive in every single event but it’s true that I didn’t compete very often for the last year,” continued the 34-year-old.

Rafa stated that he didn’t play much on clay last year and thus it is difficult for him to find his momentum back. He also said that even though he was confident of playing well at the Monte Carlo Masters 2021, it was tough for him to compete there.

“So coming back to competition, even if I felt comfortable and I felt ready for Monte-Carlo, always it’s tough and matches like this are easier to happen when you are not competing weeks in a row, being honest,” concluded Nadal.

Rafael Nadal will play his first match at the Barcelona Open 2021 tomorrow against Ilya Ivashka. Will he be able to lift his 12th Barcelona Open title this year?

Also Read: Rafael Nadal Credits Rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for Being a ‘Good Example’