Nadal says he may not return to Roland Garros after Olympic exit

AFP | Paris

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Rafael Nadal admitted he may have played at Roland Garros for the final time after he and Carlos Alcaraz were dumped out of the Olympics men’s doubles on Wednesday. The Spanish dream team lost their quarter-final in Paris 6-2, 6-4 to the US fourth seeds Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.

Nadal and Alcaraz, dubbed “Nadalcaraz”, have been one of the main talking points at the Paris Games tennis tournament, wowing the crowds in their first two matches. But they came unstuck in the last eight against doubles specialists Krajicek and Ram, who both have Grand Slam-winning pedigree. Nadal, a 14-time French Open champion, is immortalised with a statue at Roland Garros. But the 38-year-old has slumped to 161 in the world after a succession of injuries and faces relentless questions over his future.

He said after his painful defeat to Novak Djokovic in the singles competition in Paris that he would make a decision on his future after the Olympics. The Spaniard -- second on the all-time list in men’s tennis with 22 Grand Slams -- walked off Court Philippe Chatrier on Wednesday applauding all four sides of the stadium. He was later asked whether he had played at Roland Garros for the final time.

“Maybe, I don’t know,” he said. “If that’s the last time, for me it’s an unforgettable feeling and emotions. “They give me the love and the support every single second that I have been on court. “For me, it’s super, super special to feel that, particularly in this place. I can’t thank enough all of them for giving me the feelings that I have inside myself and the emotions that they make me feel.”