For the third time in his incredible career, Rafael Nadal lost a match at the French Open at the hands of Novak Djokovic.
Rafa was disappointed with the outcome, and the big question mark is now if he will play in Wimbledon. After the Roland Garros decided to postpone the start of its competition by one week, it was clear that many players would have struggled with their schedules on grass. That also prompted the retirement of Roger Federer when he was supposed to play the fourth round of the French Open. The Swiss sensation aims at having the best possible form when playing Wimbledon and he wanted to preserve his body.
Will Rafael Nadal play Wimbledon?
Soon after the King of Clay lost his match against Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal was asked to elaborate about his schedules. There will be a 250 event on grass in Mallorca right before Wimbledon. Nadal will definitely not play that tournament and he is not a hundred percent sure that he will play the Championships.
Naal commented:
“I’m not playing in Mallorca on grass, although I would have loved it. It’s impossible this year, as it goes a week before Wimbledon, and I don’t have time to prepare. I can’t tell much about my schedule now; I have played a lot since April, and I still have to decide about Wimbledon. I don’t have the mental clarity to think about it now, as I need to calm down a bit,”
Rafael Nadal in 2021
Now ranked no.3, Nadal played his last match on the 11th of June when he capitulated to world no.1 Novak Djokovic 3-6 6-3 7-6(4) 6-2 in the semifinal of the French Open (draw).
At present, during this year Nadal achieved a 23-4 record. The Spaniard has won 2 titles in 2021 in Barcelona and in Rome.
Djokovic at the French Open, ranking, and results in 2021
Now the world no.1, Novak owns a composed 26-3 match record in 2021. Novak is currently competing at the French Open where he beat Tennys Sandgren 6-2 6-4 6-2, Pablo Cuevas 6-3 6-2 6-4, Richard Berankis 6-1 6-4 6-1, Lorenzo Musetti 6-77 6-72 6-1 6-0 4-0 ret., Matteo Berrettini 6-3 6-2 6-75 7-5 and Rafael Nadal 3-6 6-3 7-64 6-2.
Novak Djokovic will play the world no.5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. Their head to head is 5-2 for Djokovic.
The Serbian has won 2 titles in 2021 at the Australian Open and in Belgrade. Novak was the runner-up in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia).
Novak won 83 titles in his career: 48 on hard courts, 16 on clay courts, 13 on indoor courts and 6 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic fought against each other 58 times. The head to head is 30-28 for Djokovic. Previously, the last time they squared off, Novak Djokovic won 3-6 6-3 7-6(4) 6-2 in the semifinal in Paris (French Open) on the 11th of June 2021.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic |
| Embed from Getty Images |
