Rafael Nadal can retire when he wants - ‘No one can tell him what to do', says John McEnroe at French Open
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Published 06/06/2024 at 13:51 GMT
John McEnroe believes that no one should be telling Rafael Nadal what to do as retirement looms for the 14-time Roland-Garros champion, who might have played his last Grand Slam in Paris. The Eurosport expert has insisted that the legendary player has earned the right to retire when he wants. “I don't think it's going to hurt his legacy if he plays another year," the American claimed.
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Eurosport expert John McEnroe does not believe Rafael Nadal’s legacy as “one of the greatest players ever” will be tarnished if he decides to play another year, and insists the legendary player has earned the right to call time on his career whenever he wants after he lost at Roland-Garros.
The 14-time French Open champion gave fourth seed Alexander Zverev a tricky test in the opening match of his 2024 Roland-Garros campaign, but he was ultimately beaten by the German to swiftly end his bid to win a record-extending 15th title.
In an emotional interview on Court Philippe-Chatrier shortly after his first-round defeat, Nadal admitted that he was not sure if it would be his final appearance at the French Open, fuelling rumours that retirement could be near for the 38-year-old following a couple of injury-hit seasons.
McEnroe said that he believes Nadal is one of the best players of all time alongside Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, and deciding to extend his career - however that pans out - will not change that.
“Rafa is a total class act, and because of his success and the way he is as a person, and what he brings to tennis, no one should be telling him what to do,” McEnroe said.
“I don't think it's going to hurt his legacy if he played another year and didn't do as well. He's one of the [top] two or three to me. You're looking at the three greatest players that ever lived, with Rafa, Novak, and Roger. He brought tennis up to another level.”
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McEnroe claimed that Nadal “still loves to play” and insisted that “no athlete wants to go out when the body gives out”.
“That's just the way it is,” the Eurosport expert added.
“Look at Andy Murray. He's been trying to get it right. There are a lot of players. For me, personally, it was a decline over a period of years. You could argue that a lot of players, including myself, when it doesn't appear that you're capable of winning a major, should stop.
“But that's up to him. He's got a legacy that will never be forgotten or tarnished, in my opinion. I don't think the fact that he still loves to play and wants to compete is a bad thing.
“That's a good thing. The fact that he still wants to do it, even though his body has made it really difficult the last two years, shows you how much he loves tennis, and that's an incredible thing to me.”
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McEnroe also pointed out that at one time, he would have named Nadal as the “best” because of the improvements he made during his career.
“I remember seeing him early on his serve, you know he was hitting it 160-170 kilometres, to 105-110 mph,” he explained.
“He beefed up his serve over the course of time. In a way, he showed more improvement than any top player I've ever seen, that he was able to get that much better on all surfaces.
“That process took the better part of 10-12 years. That would be my peak thought, you know, time around for him.
“He’s obviously had a lot of issues the last few years, a number of years with injuries, and that hasn't helped.
“But he's still played at a very high level, but maybe not quite as high as before.”
You can watch every day of the 2024 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+
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