sport news MIKE DICKSON: The Bell's tolling for Nadal and this may be the most thrilling ... trends now
Roland Garros without Rafael Nadal might not be quite Paris without the Eiffel Tower, but it does constitute a significant change to the landscape.
The absence of the great Spaniard is a disappointment, and until last week he held out hope of being there.
There should not, however, be an asterisk against whoever goes on to win the men’s title. The victor will be worthy, because Nadal being unable to compete is merely a sign of the passage of time, part of the reality which dictates that nobody — not even one of the great warrior athletes — can go on for ever.
Essentially, saying that Nadal’s absence undermines the French Open is not much different from asserting that this summer’s Open golf is devalued by Jack Nicklaus not playing, or that the Ashes will be lesser because Glenn McGrath is no longer in the Australian ranks.
The fact is that Nadal, who turns 37 a week on Saturday, is already the oldest player among the world’s top 80 men. His achievements on clay have been phenomenal but they have come at a cost, never more so than last year. Knowingly, too.
Rafael Nadal pulled out of the French Open due to a hip injury he suffered in Australia
Novak Djokovic will be tested by a host of younger contenders at Roland Garros
It is instructive to revisit how he won the title in 2022, which he was only able to do thanks to medical interventions, and what he said afterwards.
Having brushed aside Casper Ruud to claim his 14th Coupe des Mousquetaires, the Spaniard was quite open about what had been required to keep body and soul together over the fortnight.
Nadal admitted at the time: ‘I was able to play during these two weeks with extreme conditions. I have been playing with injections on the nerves to sleep the foot, and that’s why I was able to play during these two weeks. Because I have no feelings on my foot, because my doctor was able to put anaesthetic injections on the nerves.
‘At the same time, it’s a big risk in terms of less feelings, a little bit bigger risk of turning your ankle. Before every single match I had to do a couple of injections. There is a risk to have other problems when you play with a part of your body with no feelings, of course. It’s a risk that I wanted to take to play here.’
In recalling that, we should perhaps all be less surprised that the bell has tolled and he has not been the same player since. He went on to make the semi-finals at Wimbledon before withdrawing, and subsequently he has only managed to play 13 matches, losing eight of them.
You hope that the rest cure he is undertaking allows him a valedictory appearance in Paris next year, and of course he deserves nothing less.
Although tennis should reflect on why so much of this year has been taken up with reporting who is missing, rather than who is playing, there is still no shortage of worthy contenders in the coming 15 days in Paris.
As has already been pointed out, this will be the most open, and arguably interesting, men’s event for decades. Novak Djokovic’s towering expertise in navigating
