Sam Groth believes a 14th Roland-Garros title could spur Rafael Nadal on the rest of the season amid rumors of a retreat surrounding the Spaniard.
Nadal aims to extend his lead at the top of the men’s Grand Slam individual title list when he faces No. 8 seed Casper Ruud in the final on Sunday night. A victory would mark the 22nd individual Grand Slam title of his illustrious career.
The Spaniard turned 36 this week and has been dealing with foot problems for most of the last 12 months before reclaiming a miraculous Australian Open title earlier this year.
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However, Nadal fueled rumors that he could disconnect his career at the end of this tournament after beating No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals last week.
Nadal celebrates victory over Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros (Getty)
Nadal seems to have poured water on retirement rumors since then, telling Eurosport he plans to be at Roland Garros next season, and Groth also declined to rule out a return.
“We know his foot isn’t good, after all, the bone is actually disintegrating in there, so there aren’t too many options for him when it comes to surgery,” Nine’s Sports Sunday said. .
“At 36, coming back from a long break will be very, very difficult. I think if he wins, we’ll see him at Wimbledon. You can’t win the first two seniors of the year and not go on to Wimbledon and then the US Open. .
“Obviously he’s still close to the best player in the world at the Grand Slam level. Will we see him again at Roland-Garros? If his foot is as bad as we all think, maybe the right way out is to get to the top. game and the number 14 winner “.
Casper Ruud will be in the first Grand Slam final of his career on Sunday night (Getty)
Incredibly, the clash between Nadal and Ruud will be the first of their respective careers.
Ruud’s career in the final saw him defeat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Emil Ruusuvuori, Lorenzo Sonego, Hubert Hurkacz, Holger Rune and Marin Cilic.
His Christmas career has seen him overcome a little more stellar power. The Spanish star has defeated Jordan Thompson, Corentin Moutet, Botic van de Zandschulp, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Djokovic and Alexander Zverev.
Watch Roland-Garros on 9Gem and 9Now or all matches, without ads, live and on demand with 4K tracks, at Stan Sport
So amazing is Christmas’s longevity that Ruud was just six years old when the Spaniard defeated Mariano Puerta to claim his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 2005.
The men’s singles final will start at 11pm AEST on Sunday night, and match coverage will start at 10.30pm at 9Gem.
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