Rafael Nadal set to reveal French Open plans
Rafael Nadal remains a doubt for the French Open
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Rafael Nadal is set to reveal whether he is able to play at the French Open as the Spaniard continues to recover from a hip injury.
The 14-time winner at Roland Garros has not yet featured on clay this season after suffering a problem with his left hip flexor at January’s Australian Open.
The 36-year-old has withdrawn from a number of tournaments over the last couple of months as his return to action continues to be delayed, putting the defence of his French Open crown in doubt.
Reports in Spain this week suggested that Nadal would not be competing at the second grand slam of the year, which begins on Monday 22 May.
And the Spanish player is due to reveal whether he will be able to compete on Thursday.
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Nadal has won 14 of his 22 major titles on the Paris clay courts, losing only three times across 18 appearances at the tournament.
He became the oldest men’s singles champion in French Open history last year.
If Nadal is able to compete, he could again meet Novak Djokovic, who he beat in the quarter-finals in 2022.
The two players both have 22 grand slams, the record for any male player, while long-time rival Roger Federer closed his career last year after 20 major wins.
The trio have dominated men’s tennis for the best part of two decades but Djokovic, who was knocked out of the Italian Open by Holger Rune this week, believes the next generation are ready to take over.
““A new generation is here already,” Djokovic said after his defeat to Rune. “[Carlos] Alcaraz is number one in the world from Monday, obviously he’s playing amazing tennis. I think it’s also good for our sport that we have new faces, new guys coming up.
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“We’ve been saying this for years that we can expect that moment to come when you have a kind of shift of generations.
“I’m personally still trying to hang in there with all of them. I still have the hunger to keep going. Let’s see how far I’m going to play.”
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