The twilight of Rafael Nadal’s extraordinary career will be “a case of diminishing returns” according to Aussie tennis legend Wally Masur.
Nadal bowed out of his pet Roland-Garros – a slam he’s won 14 times – in the first round with a straight-sets loss to Alex Zverev on Tuesday morning (AEST).
While many expected Nadal to retire after this event, the 22-time grand slam winner has indicated a desire to further extend his career.
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But speaking on Stan Sport’s Grand Slam Daily, Masur said doing so would likely not be enjoyable.
“You’ve got to remember a match is the tip of the pyramid – the pyramid is the base of training and everything that he’s done over the last year and a half to get to this point,” he explained.
“He’s got to maintain the rage … when the best players are at their best, they’re playing 65 to 85 singles matches a year.
“If (Nadal) doesn’t play that, it’ll be a case of diminishing returns and then you have more losses against less ranked opponents. He won’t enjoy that.
“It’s going to be interesting to see which way he goes, ultimately.”
Masur said as well as Zverev played, Nadal didn’t play poorly. He said Zverev was his “second favourite” to win the tournament.
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The crowd to watch the match was full of the biggest names in tennis, including Iga Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
Nadal had flashes of brilliances – a running forehand crosscourt winner from well behind the baseline landed perfectly in the corner and set the crowd alight.
There was another in the third set, too. Two sets down with the score at 3-3, Nadal ripped another running forehand – this time down the line – that just caught the edge of the line.
That shot brought the crowd back into the match, but it wasn’t enough to kickstart a miracle fightback.
Nadal was afforded a rare losing post-match interview – they’re usually reserved only for the winning player – in which he said it was “difficult” to know what his future looked like.
But he conceded there was a “big percentage” he wouldn’t play another Roland-Garros – at least in the French Open.
The venue will be back in action during the Olympics, which Nadal said he hoped to play in.
“Maybe in two months, I’ll say that’s enough,” he said.