All Things Tennis 2023

[BleedGopher]

These two will have epic points and matches like this for the next 15 years, can't wait!


Go USA!!

 

[BleedGopher]

Hopefully this is just Nadal pulling out of this year's French Open, and not a full retirement. As close as the end is for his career due to injuries, I'd hate to see it end this way. Dude is an absolute legend and all around great guy.


Go Nadal!!

 

[BleedGopher]

Per Axios Sports:

Rafael Nadal announced Thursday that he will miss the French Open because of a lingering hip injury — and that he expects 2024 to be his final season.

Why it matters: Eight months after Roger Federer retired, his longtime friend and rival has acknowledged that he, too, is nearing the end.

The big picture: Nadal's 18-year dominance at the French Open is among the most spectacular achievements in all of sports.

• He's won 14 titles at Roland Garros since his 2005 debut, the most by any player at any major in tennis history.
• That includes last year's title, which he won on an anesthetized foot.

Wild stat: Nadal has played 115 matches at the French Open and won 112 of them. Preposterous. The "King of Clay," indeed.

State of play: Nadal, 36, had a sensational 2022 campaign that saw him start 20-1 and win two majors. But it's been an injury-plagued struggle as of late.

• He's just 1-3 this season and has dropped seven of his past nine matches.
• In March, he fell out of the top 10 for the first time since April 2005.

What he's saying: Nadal said he doesn't want to set a date for his return, but he expects to be out for a while as he tries to ramp up for a farewell 2024 season.

• "I am going to stop. I am not going to train," he said Thursday at his tennis academy in Manacor, Spain.
• "These have been many months with many moments of frustration, and I can handle frustration. But there comes a time when you have to stop."

Go Nadal!!