Nadal puts up a big fight but falls to Zverev – rts.ch

Despite a level of play much higher than that which he presented this spring in Barcelona, ​​Madrid and Rome and even if he served to win the 2nd set, Rafael Nadal remained far from the score in this long meeting. 3h05′.

His “bad luck” was to face during this first round the man who undoubtedly plays the best tennis on clay today. Titled 8 days ago in Rome, Alexander Zverev delivered an XXL performance to leave Rafael Nadal no hope. A Nadal who we felt was really ready to rush into the slightest opening.

Alexander Zverev, the No. 1 favorite

The German became the third man to beat Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros after Robin Soderling and Novak Djokovic. Even if he went through difficult moments, the mastery he showed against a “good” Rafael Nadal places him today as the No. 1 favorite for the tournament. The one who is considered the strongest active player to have never won a Grand Slam tournament can truly believe in his star. With this victory, he also erased the memory of the 2022 semi-final against the same Nadal which he had finished in a wheelchair after fracturing his leg in the heart of a Homeric fight.

After the meeting, Rafael Nadal, as he did before the press on Saturday, left himself a – small – possibility of replaying this tournament in 2025. “I feel much better physically than two months ago”he says. “I hope in any case to come back for the Olympic Games” this summer, he added.

He probably missed one or two much more affordable rounds to gain momentum before challenging a man of the caliber of Alexander Zverev. He will return this summer to Roland-Garros for the Olympic tournament. Gold medalist in Beijing in 2008, the Mallorcan will be able to harbor certain ambitions provided that his physique does not let him down.

ats/bao