Nadal eyes French Open bid despite early Rome exit at hands of Hurkacz

Rafael Nadal (37) said on Saturday that he is considering playing in the upcoming French Open despite being knocked out in the second round in Rome by Hubert Hurkacz (27).

Clay court icon Nadal previously stated that he would only play at the French Open, where he has won a record 14 titles, if he felt competitive following a slew of injuries over the last two years, which have left him ranked 305th in the world.

And his elimination in his first match against Hurkacz was a step backwards after reaching the last 16 in Madrid, casting doubt on his future plans.

"The decision, as you can imagine, is not clear in my mind today. But if I have to say what's my feeling and if my mind is closer one way or the other way, I going to say be in Roland Garros and try my best," Nadal told reporters.

"Physically I have some issues, but not probably yet enough to say not playing in the most important event of my tennis career. Let's see what's going on, how I feel myself mentally tomorrow, after tomorrow, and in one week."

Nadal held his own in the first two games of the first set, which took 26 minutes to complete, but then faltered as Hurkacz capitalised on errors.

In the first set, the veteran gave away two breaks of serve with miscued drop shots, which Hurkacz finished in 49 minutes after sweeping through five straight games.

And the match was effectively over when Hurkacz, who had not dropped a single service game, broke Nadal in the third game of the second set, securing a famous victory.

A few years ago, Nadal's dominance on clay, let alone a court where he has won a record ten titles, would have been unthinkable.

Hurkacz will face Tomas Etcheverry in the third round, likely ending Nadal's love affair with Rome as the 22-time Grand Slam winner prepares to call it a career at the end of the season.

However, tournament organisers told the media that Nadal declined a post-match farewell celebration on court because Saturday's loss was likely his final appearance at the Foro Italico.

Nadal stated that he was "98 percent, not 100 percent" certain that he would never grace the Roman clay again and thus refused to accept the ceremony.

SportsLigue