French Open 2024: Rafael Nadal’s final appearance at the French Open is likely tonight

Rafael Nadal’s appearance at the French Open tonight could be The Oval in 1948 all over again.

Nothing good happens after midnight? Tonight’s an exception, folks. Rafael Nadal is likely playing his last match at the French Open. His win/loss percentage at Roland Garros is 97.4 per cent. Positively Bradmanesque.

There’s not enough popcorn in this world for Nadal versus fourth-seeded German Alex Zverev. I reckon they’ll start at about midnight, AEST. I’m setting more alarms than the marathon runner in Seinfeld. Win, lose, draw, be taken from Court Philippe Chatrier in a wheelchair or dragged out by the ankles, it’s going to be emotional. The masses will be full of affection in the city of love. Nadal will tremble with desire. The 14-time champion is also the people’s champion, the physical warrior with a poet’s mindset: must enjoy the suffering

He may have Buckley’s against an elite opponent. But he won’t die wondering. Nadal is battling so many injuries that his injuries have injuries. But at least he’s relatively fresh. You suspect he’ll start like a train, mentally at least, and throw the kitchen sink in the form of monster forehands, and all the utensils, and the fridge, and everything else he can get his hands on. The atmosphere will be incredible. It has the feel of Bradman walking out for his final Test innings at The Oval in 1948, Zverev cast in the role of Eric Hollies.

The England team cheer Don Bradman two balls before the Australian captain’s Test career ended with a duck at The Oval in 1948 Picture: Central Press/Getty Images

“I was playing some practice and yeah, at some point somebody tell me the draw,” Nadal said in Paris. “I mean, the reaction is – I mean, it’s something that I expected in some way, no? When you are not seeded, anything can happen. That’s part of the business. Just accept, you know. That’s the thing. And you never know what’s lucky or unlucky. Of course, on the paper it is not the best draw. I play against one of the toughest opponents possible. At the same time, he came here winning the last event and it’s a Masters 1000. It’s not a small one. So just, yeah, what can I do? That’s the draw. Just try to be ready for it.”

It’s a spooky draw for Zverev. He was playing lights-out tennis in his 2022 French Open semi-final against Nadal, only to suffer one of the worst tennis injuries you’ve seen. He broke his ankle, screaming and rolling in agony on the court. It wiped him off the tour for a year. Now he returns to the scene of the gruesome moment against the same opponent, on the same court, at the same tournament. When Nadal went to the locker room to check on Zverev in 2022, the German was bawling his eyes out.

The equivalent of Bradman’s final duck for Nadal might be a straight-sets defeat. A bagel or two or heaven forbid, three. For one of the few times in his career, he has nothing to lose. “I am not anxious,” he said. “I am focused on trying to play well. That’s it. It’s a super-tough first round. Maybe I go there and I repeat the disaster (a heavy second-round loss to Hubert Hurkacz) of Rome. It’s a possibility. I don’t want to hide that. But in my mind is to do something different and play much better and give myself a chance to play competitively. Then it’s going to be enough or not? I mean, I didn’t play five-set matches since a super-long time ago.”

Nadal added: “I didn’t play at this level of opponents, being competitive, since a super-long time ago, either. So all these questions that I understand that you are making to me – I am asking them to myself, too. But the answer is going to be on Monday, no? That’s it. The rest of the things are just talking and talking. And at the end that doesn’t matter, no? It’s about my feelings. My feelings are better. I want to enjoy the match. Is not ideal to be the first match because I feel competitive enough to have this match later in the tournament. But it’s how it is. I need to be ready since the beginning. Let’s see.”