36-Year-Old Rafael Nadal’s Absence Already Causing Heart-Breaks in the Tennis World as Doubles Veteran Expresses Sorrow With an Inspiring Message

14-time French Open winner, Rafael Nadal, is not going to play in Roland Garros this year. The clay courts of Paris were his stomping ground, where he broke the will of his opponents at will. He was the hitman prowling in those courts, making it the graveyards of reputations, for almost everyone who dared stand in his way to glory. When it came to Roland Garros, Nadal was the judge, the jury, and the executioner. Thus, understandably, the French Open is heart-wrenching to behold without him, especially for his fans. Like every fan of the ‘King of Clay’, the former American tennis star, pundit, and coach Pam Shriver also experiences the same emotions.

It is the French Open and no Nadal!

Nadal opted out of the French Open. Despite the heartbreaking announcement, many praised his decision to keep himself as fit as possible for the next year, as 2024 could be the last year for us to see the Spanish legend on the court.

Many tennis stars, analysts and fans opened up regarding the absence of the tennis legend at the tournament. Standing in her tennis court with Rafael Nadal’s poster on the wall, Pam Shriver shared the picture and wrote about how sad she felt with no Nadal in the tournament.

The poster depicts the muscular physique of Nadal during the celebration, splashed with colours. Nadal’s quote on the poster reads, “Loosing is not my enemy. Fear of losing is my enemy.” True, fear cuts deeper than the sword, but some heartbreaks cut even more deep. The former World No.3 WTA star captioned the picture with these words, “This poster is on my home court. It won’t be the same at the RG,” followed by a sad emoji.

Roland Garros and Rafael Nadal: A love affair

Rafael Nadal began his decimation streak at the French Open in 2005, beating Mariano Puerta of Argentina. Then came a hat-trick — with Nadal defeating the tennis legend Roger Federer consecutively for three years in the finals.

Read More: Rafael Nadal Reflects On His First Day Of Training 

Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, David Ferrer — all have tasted the Nadal wrath on the French soil. The latest to face him on the daunting red dirt of Paris was Casper Ruud, who lost the match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-0. The results tell it all. Such has been the mercilessness—in all the fourteen finals Nadal won, he has not been taken to five sets.

In the words of Nadal, “No player is bigger than the Australian Open”. But when it comes to the French Open, not many would agree with him. For now, fans will have to bear until next year to see him bloom the court of Phillipe-Chatrier, for possibly the last time.

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