Mark Cavendish defends Rafael Nadal’s choice

Rafael Nadal was one of the most anticipated athletes at the Olympic Games in Parisespecially after playing the role of a fan during the Games’ opening ceremony. The former world No. 1 knew he was unlikely to win a medal, despite the Olympic tournament being played on the same red clay as the French Open (where he won 14 times in his legendary career).

In the singles, the Spanish champion was knocked out in the second round by his great rival Novak Djokovicwho won without too much effort in two sets. In the doubles with his young compatriot Carlos AlcarazIn the quarterfinals Rafa had to admit defeat to the American champions Ram and Krajicek.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion recently announced that he will US Open 2024 and use the coming days to decide what his future holds. Despite training hard in recent months and doing everything he can to get back to 100% shape, it is clear that Nadal’s current level is not enough to aim for winning the most important titles.

The Spanish ace will definitely Laver Cup 2024 – which will take place in Berlin at the end of September – and possibly the Davis Cup finalAccording to many fans and experts, the Davis Cup finals could be the last event of his great career.

Mark Cavendish praises Rafa

Rafa Nadal thoroughly enjoyed his last Olympic experience, decides to stay in the Olympic village, unlike his rival Nole DjokovicThe former world number 1 has always had a good feeling about the Olympic Games, having won the gold medal in singles in Beijing in 2008 and in doubles in Rio in 2016 (together with his current coach Marc Lopez).

In a recent interview, the cycling legend said Mark Cavendish praised Rafa for his choice to remain in the Olympic Village: “I heard Rafa Nadal defend his decision to remain in the Olympic Village this year, saying that you can only experience it fully if you immerse yourself in it. I am with him. But it is perhaps worth noting that it was Novak Djokovic who took Olympic gold, choosing to be based outside. I fear that the Olympic villages have lost their magic.”

The Spaniards’ 2024 was rather sparse on pleasures. The former world number 1 reached only one final this year, on the red clay of Bastad, but was defeated by Nuno Borges. During the latest edition of his podcast, former American star and top analyst Andy Roddick reflected on Rafa’s current status: “I find it hard to believe that he’s going to step it up and try again at the French Open, but I’ve been wrong about him before and any analyst who has an opinion, we’re just guessing. We don’t know, we’re not part of his inner circle.

I certainly don’t tick as the best players of all time. I don’t get it, but I don’t know if he wants to fight for titles at Bastad. I don’t know if that’s his job. We’ll see. We’re all better when he’s around. Hopefully we’ll see him in big finals again. I don’t know. It feels like this could be the end. Laver Cup could be a party.”

Nadal may retire soon

Recently 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer expressed some concern about the condition of his former rival and good friend: “Three and two (the score) Oh, God. Yeah, I saw he was 1-0 down, love-40. That was the last time I looked, a few hours ago, but when I saw the score I thought, ‘Oh no, I hope his body is okay.

So yeah — I check the game almost every day to see the scores and results. Watching it is a different matter — I like to watch it when it’s on TV. We’ve been watching a lot of football as well — the European Championships and now the Olympics are coming up, so I’m going to watch all that. I’m a big sports fan. But again, I’m always out and about and busy. But especially in the evenings, when the day calms down and I have time to sit back and maybe go on YouTube and watch some highlights, I tend to do that. I like to keep up with what’s going on because the guys are playing well and I like to see what they’re doing.”

Due to his many injuries and his specific playing style, almost nobody expected Rafa to have such a long career at the topThe Spaniard, together with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, rewrote the history of this sport.