At Roland-Garros, where he was crowned on Sunday for the 14th time, Rafael Nadal was alone on his planet, but the Spaniard was quick to return to earth when it comes to painful pathology in his left. foot that he suffers and may force him to throw away. The towel.
If its place in the history of tennis and the wider sport is cemented, the future of RafaJust 36 years old, is shrouded in uncertainty and questions.
After his demonstration against Casper Ruud, swept 6-3, 6-3 and 6-0 in the final, Nadal became Infinite, the sun king where Rafael XIV for the Spanish newspaper on Monday.
Ivan Ljubicic, the coach of his great rival Roger Federer, immediately suggested that Roland-Garros central be renamed the short Rafael Nadal. There are no words to describe his series […] A statue is not enoughtweet of the Croatian coach.
Of the 14 titles at Porte d’Auteuil, the Majorcan is definitely more in his name than the accumulated tennis legends like Rod Laver (2), Bjorn Borg (6), Roger Federer (1), Novak Djokovic (2) and André Agassi (1).
To measure his incredible efficiency, one statistic: he won 112 wins for just 3 defeats, or 97.5% victory. Since his career began in 2002, he has recorded 473 wins and 46 losses (91% success) on his favorite surface and won 63 titles out of his 92 total.
His supremacy is not limited to clay. He is the most awarded player in circuit history in grand slam tournaments with 22 titles, two more than Djokovic and Federer. Not to mention his Olympic gold medals and his five Davis Cup titles with Spain.
Not surprisingly, in 2020, brand he was voted the greatest Spanish sportsman in history, leading to icons such as basketball player Pau Gasol, cyclist Miguel Indurain, footballer Andrés Iniesta or motorcycle driver Marc Marquez.
Nadal does not know what awaits him. The reason? A painful left foot pathology has accompanied him since he was 18 and delayed his preparation for the Parisian tournament.
Obviously I can’t and I don’t want to continue playing under these circumstances.he admitted on Sunday.
The only thing that can be done to give me a chance at this is to put my foot to sleep […] by giving an anesthetic injection before each fighthe revealed.
The former world No. 1, who went from 5th to 4th place in the ATP on Monday due to his success in Paris, suffers from Müller-Weiss syndrome, a rare pathology that affects the navicular bone (located in the back of the foot, between the talus). and the cuneiform bones).
In the most serious cases and in subjects who put a lot of strain on their feet, the bone will break, flatten, it may break and, eventually, it may evolve into osteoarthritis with contraction of the plantar archexplained last week to AFP Didier Mainard, president of the French Association of foot surgery and head of the orthopedic surgery department at Nancy hospital.
The next flagship event of the season, Wimbledon, is scheduled from June 27 to July 10. Winner in 2008 and 2010 on London lawn, Nadal hopes to run, especially since he won the first two major tournaments of the year, the first in his long career.
Wimbledon is a priority, I’m willing to play there with anti-inflammatories, but not with foot anesthetic injections. I don’t want this situation to happen againhe said.
It can be quickly fixed with treatment next Sunday consisting of pulsed radiofrequency injections that can help reduce the feeling of permanent foot pain.
The more radical option of an operation remains, but it is not yet relevant. To consider an operation that could improve the situation, but it would not guarantee me to be able to proceed, I had to understand everything.recognized Nadal, before leaving Roland-Garros as the winner.
For the last time?
France Media Agency
Source: Radio-Canada
