Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge has urged Rafael Nadal not to rush into a decision on retirement, should he win at Roland-Garros this weekend.
The Spaniard is two wins away from a remarkable 14th title in Paris, and a 22nd grand slam victory, which would move him two clear of long-time rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
But Nadal, who turns 36 today, has been hinting that this might be the final time he plays at Roland-Garros.
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A persistent foot injury has troubled him for some time, and he suggested after his quarter final win over Djokovic that the end is nigh.
“Every match that I play here, I don’t know if it’s going to be my last match here in Roland-Garros in my tennis career,” he said.
“The crowd has been amazing since the beginning of the tournament. I don’t know. I think probably they know that I not gonna be here for a lot more time.”
Woodbridge, who won 22 grand slam titles of his own, said Nadal’s admission was telling.
“He’s put a lot out there, which is interesting because he’s the king of downplaying everything, and putting no pressure on himself, and all of it on his opponent,” he told Wide World of Sports.
“There’s been a couple of comments that suggest we might see a Pete Sampras moment with Rafa. Pete won the US Open in 2002 and we never saw him play another tournament again.
“There’s a little bit of that about Rafa right now.”
Woodbridge said that should Nadal prevail at Roland-Garros, it will raise a number of questions, especially given he’s also the reigning Australian Open champion.
“If he does win in Paris, I can’t imagine him going to the grass, it just doesn’t seem likely. So, does he take a longer break and then go to the US in a few months?” Woodbridge pondered.
“He has a lot to contemplate if he does win Roland-Garros. Does he think about trying to go for the calendar year grand slam? There’s so many questions he probably didn’t expect to have to answer at the start of the year. It changes everything.
“It depends how much he feels he has left to give. I think it would be rash of him to make a decision straight after this match.”
Nadal showed no signs of discomfort from his foot when he dispatched Djokovic in four sets in the quarter finals, to set up a semi final against Alexander Zverev.
That match lasted four hours and 12 minutes, which Woodbridge believes will be a factor when the Spaniard plays Zverev.
“What we saw from Rafa against Novak was almost super-human. It seems he’s back to the form that has made him so hard to beat for so long. The forehand was brilliant, it had real pace,” he explained.
“The only way I see Rafa losing is if he doesn’t bounce back physically from that match against Novak. That was the question last year, when he hurt his foot you could see he wasn’t moving that well, but against Novak he was near his best, movement wise.
“At 36-years-old, they’re the issues you’re never quite sure about. A decade ago he’d play an epic match and he could rebound for the next one, sometimes that doesn’t happen as you get older.
“That will be what we have to look for against Zverev. The fact Rafa didn’t have to play a fifth set against Djokovic was massive.”
Standing in Nadal’s way is Zverev, the third seed who is still looking for his first grand slam title.
Zverev downed rising star Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter finals, a win Woodbridge believes was crucial to his career.
“I thought that Zverev stepped up against Alcaraz, he had to win that match to be able to win majors moving forward,” he said.
“If he’d lost that match, I think he would have forever been a bridesmaid at the top of men’s tennis.
“He showed a bit more maturity, and plenty of guts and determination. I was really pleased to see him play well in that match.”
The other semi final pits 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic against eighth seed Casper Ruud, but that match may simply identify the runner-up.
“Ruud is having the best tournament of his life, and I think he’ll get through Cilic,” Woodbridge said.
“But Rafa can smell blood in the water, and I don’t think he lets go now.”
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