With his illustrious career soon coming to an end, Rafael Nadal has begun saying goodbye at his favorite events. The Spaniard would like to make his final appearance at the upcoming Olympic Games memorable, but former World No.1 Andy Roddick believes the feat is easier said than done.
Nadal has been dealing with injury for the past year and a half. The 22-time Grand Slam champion returned to the ATP Tour in January, before taking time off to deal with another ailment. After skipping out on several events, Nadal competed at Roland Garros, where he lost to Alexander Zverev in the opening round.
Roddick reflects on Nadal's remaining schedule
After his disappointing loss at the French Open, Nadal has returned to training and is yet to compete at any event. However, the 38-year old has his sights set on the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, which will be played on the hallowed clay courts of Roland Garros.
Nadal was confirmed as one of the Spanish players who will be representing their country at the Olympics this summer. The former World No.1 won singles Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Games, before triumphing in the doubles event at the 2016 Games in Rio. Prior to the Olympics, Nadal received a wild card entry to compete at the Bastad Open, where he hopes to warm up before heading to Paris.
In an appearance on The Tennis Channel, Roddick spoke on Nadal's remaining schedule and highlighted the difficulty in taking time off before competing at the Olympics.
“I’m sure the organizers of the tournament are super disappointed, and they definitely had Rafa playing Bastad when he was hurt, like in December of last year, on their bingo card," said Roddick. "This is great and listen you can’t … just no matter how great you are it’s tough to just waltz into the Olympics and play that level of tennis with, you know, a two-month gap in between."
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