Rafael Nadal admitted on Monday that a deep-seated fear of failure drove him to a record seventh French Open title and will keep him playing until his love of the sport finally drains away. The 26-year-old Spaniard refuses to accept the crown as the greatest claycourt player of all time, despite surpassing Bjorn Borg’s six Roland Garros triumphs which he matched last year.
With 11 Grand Slam titles under his belt, he is steadily closing in on Roger Federer’s record of 16 and has time on his side being almost five years the Swiss star’s junior. “I have always been scared of losing,” confessed Nadal, after his 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 win over world number one Novak Djokovic in the Roland Garros final which had been held over from Sunday because of rain. “That’s why I always have full respect for opponents, knowing I can win or lose. I have kept that focus for eight years.”
His record on clay makes impressive reading — seven French Opens, eight Monte Carlo Masters, seven Barcelona titles, six Rome Masters and 50 career titles in all on all surfaces. “It is not for me to say if I am one of the best. I have probably had the best results and it’s a great and emotional thing to win seven French Opens,” said Nadal, whose career record in Paris now stands at 52 wins and just one defeat.
“But the important thing is to win Roland Garros, whether it’s the first time, sixth or seventh.” His coach, and uncle, Toni Nadal claimed in the immediate aftermath of Monday’s win that his nephew was unfortunate to be playing at the same time as Djokovic and Roger Federer.
The inference being that Nadal would have many more than the 11 majors he currently holds. Of the last 34 Grand Slam tournaments, 31 have been shared between the world’s top three. Juan Martin del Potro was the last man to break the stranglehold when he won the 2009 US Open.
“I feel lucky to have achieved the things that I have,” said Nadal. “I have great rivals and even in such an era of fantastic players, I am happy to have won as many matches as I have. I am a lucky man.” Unlike Borg, Nadal insists he has no intention of following the Swede’s example of retiring at the peak of his career. That is depsite his long-standing battles against knee injuries which have often threatened to derail his career.
“I will be here until injuries restrict either me or my chances of playing. I will keep going as long as the motivation and the passion are with me,” he said.
Sharapova a candidate for Russia’s flag-bearer: minister
Newly-crowned French Open champion Maria Sharapova is a candidate to be Russia’s flag-bearer at the opening of next month’s London Olympics, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said Tuesday. Russia’s tennis federation chief Shamil Tarpishchev, who is also a member of Russia’s National Olympic Committee, earlier said that Sharapova had already been pencilled in as the flag-bearer. But Mutko said: “Maria is an outstanding athlete but currently she’s just a candidate for the role of the country’s flag-bearer.” The minister added that the flag-bearer would be officially named after the NOC executive committee meeting on July 10-11. Tarpishchev had said: “We reached an agreement about it just after the French Open final. “As far as I know Roger Federer will be Switzerland’s flag-bearer and Rafael Nadal will be Spain’s. It’s very pleasant that the popularity of tennis is growing around the word.” Sharapova won the French Open title on Saturday with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Italy’s Sara Errani to seal a rare career Grand Slam — winning the four biggest tournaments in the sport. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev both sent congratulatory telegrams to the Florida-based tennis star while the country’s tennis chiefs expressed hope that she would now go for gold at the London Games. Russian tennis fans have always been unstinting in their support of Sharapova, known affectionately by her short name “Masha”, even though she is resident in the United States and only rarely comes home. Sharapova has also made clear her loyalty to her home nation, competing in the Fed Cup and almost always wearing a necklace with the cross of the Russian Orthodox Church when she plays.
