MADRID, 14 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The German tennis player Alexander Zverev believes that the Spanish Rafa Nadal “will retire” after Roland Garros, the third ‘Grand Slam’ of the season and that he has already won fourteen times, ensuring that he could take advantage of another possible victory in the Parisian ‘big’ “to say goodbye”.
“Unfortunately Rafael Nadal will retire after Roland Garros. I don’t want it to happen, but I think he will have a great tournament, he will potentially win it and he will take the opportunity to say goodbye,” he predicted in an interview with Eurosport along with his brother Mischa before its premiere in the Australian Open.
The Spaniard holds 22 ‘Grand Slam’ titles, a mark that he believes will be difficult but not impossible for the Serbian Novak Djokovic to overcome. “I think Nadal still has a chance to win Roland Garros and Novak is favorite to win all the others. But there are guys who will have a say,” he explained.
In addition, the German stated that the Murcian Carlos Alcaraz, current number one in the world, has the “level” to conquer a ‘Grand Slam’. “He has a level for that, but he also depends on a lot of players who weren’t there in 2022,” he said, assuring that he could be a great rival for Nadal in Paris. “I think Alcaraz has a chance to win on the ground,” he stressed.
Later, at a press conference, the current Olympic champion acknowledged that psychologically he has left behind his long ankle injury. “I don’t think about the injury every day. I think more about what I can improve. How can I get back in shape? What do I still have to train? I’m not afraid to go out on court and get injured again. When you’re relatively pain free you think less about it,” he said.