Rafael Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya feels defeat to Novak Djokovic at 2024 Paris Olympics pushed Spaniard to retirement
Carlos Moya opined that the 2024 Roland Garros draw and Paris Olympics defeat led to Rafael Nadal announcing his retirement.
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Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at Paris Olympics, (In box) Carlos Moya with Nadal (Images via The New York Times, X)
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal announced on October 10 that he would retire from professional tennis after representing Spain in the Davis Cup Finals. It was a sad day for the tennis fans who saw the Spaniard dominate the tour.
Nadal’s decision to retire was attributed to persistent injuries. However, his coach, Carlos Moya feels that the defeat to Novak Djokovic at Paris Olympics was the final nail in the coffin.
Nadal bowed out of the tournament following a defeat to his nemesis in the second round. Although he played in doubles with Carlos Alcaraz and reached the quarterfinals, his dream to land a third Olympic gold medal could not fulfilled.
Before the Olympics, Nadal also suffered a first-round exit at the 2024 Roland Garros. Moya feels that if Nadal had gotten a favorable draw at his favorite Grand Slam tournament, things might have panned out differently. Talking about his decision to retire, Moya claimed that after facing disappointments in France twice, Nadal made up his mind that this would be his last season.
I think that if he had had a more pleasant draw at Roland-Garros (French Open) we would have seen a necessary change of trend. That didn’t happen… The final point is the Olympic Games, he has a problem the days before and plays against Djokovic in the second round. I think that was his last great hope and that’s why he decided that it will be his last.
Carlos Moya said on Radiostadio Noche
After missing out on almost the entire 2022 season, Nadal made a comeback at the Brisbane International. However, the 38-year-old could not compete at the Australian Open due to injury. The 22-time Grand Slam champion then directly played the Barcelona Open. He also competed in Rome and Madrid to prepare better for the French Open but things did not work the way he wanted.
Carlos Moya admits it was a tough year for Rafael Nadal
Further talking about the challenges faced by Rafael Nadal in the 2024 season, Carlos Moya admitted that it has been a tough year for the Spaniard with injuries and his body letting him down.
We’ve always been behind a bit. He gets injured, misses the Australian Open, tries to play Indian Wells and gets injured again…It has been a tough and difficult year, first for him because he has put a lot into making it a great year but unfortunately his body has not let him do so.
Carlos Moya said
Moya reiterated his claim that Nadal made up his mind about retirement after he bowed out of the Olympics. Interestingly, Nadal kept denying that this would be his last season even after the Olympics. Nevertheless, the Spaniard has confirmed that he will bid adieu after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
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Ritesh Pathak
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