Rafael Nadal's loss vs. Novak Djokovic suggests his time in tennis is running short

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PARIS – The blockbuster matchup went the way of Blockbuster.

It’s a relic of another time, a memory we’ll have forever. But the idea that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are on the same planet as tennis players in the year 2024 turned out to be wishful thinking.

Djokovic, the No. 1 seed in the men’s singles draw, needed just fewer than two hours to sweep away Nadal 6-1, 6-4, in what might well be his last singles match at the venue where his statue will forever greet those who enter.

Their 60th meeting, at the Paris Olympics and on a court where Nadal has won 14 French Open titles, wasn’t just a dud. It was the kind of mismatch that suggests Nadal’s time in the sport where he became a global icon is running perilously short.

"Everything has a beginning, everything has an end and when (the time comes) I will miss playing tennis at the competitive stages," said Nadal, who added that has not made a decision about when he will retire. "I cannot complain. I have been playing on this court for 20 years, fighting for the most important things. I have achieved much more than what I could have dreamed. If that was the last match here, or when(ever) the last match will be, I am going to accept (it) in peace."

As festive as the atmosphere was inside Philippe-Chatrier Court as the match began on a cloudless and hot Monday afternoon, it took only a few minutes for the thousands of fans waving Spanish flags to realize that Nadal was not going to be up to the task.

His forehand, which may well be the most destructive in the history of the sport, was mostly either dropping short or sailing long. His serve was only producing a handful of easy points. His movement out of the corners too often left him exposed.

This is not the first time over the course of their previous 59 meetings where a highly anticipated match between Djokovic and Nadal ended in a wipeout in either direction. But given the context of Nadal’s broken-down 38-year-old body, this one hits different.

And it probably shouldn’t have been a surprise.

Since winning the 2022 French Open, Nadal has struggled for the last two years to solve multiple injury issues. Every time it seemed he was on the verge of a comeback or getting a series of matches under his belt to get his game back into rhythm, another issue emerged.

Foot, abdominal, hip. It all adds up.

But Nadal dutifully worked to try and play at these Olympics, given the venue and the opportunity to play a best-of-three tournament rather than the physically grinding best-of-five required at Grand Slams. He’s so linked with this place, he was one of the notable sportsmen who was given the honor of carrying the Olympic torch at the opening ceremony despite not being French.

Nadal was so locked-in on this event – he’s also playing doubles with Carlos Alcaraz – he even skipped Wimbledon, opting instead to enter a tournament in Sweden on clay. Though Nadal reached the final there, he was dominated by little-known Portuguese player Nuno Borges. And even more concerning was that another injury popped up. He arrived on Chatrier Sunday for his doubles match heavy strapping on his right thigh and was undecided whether to even play singles until after his warm-up Monday morning before playing Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.

To add insult to literal injury, he drew Djokovic as a second-round opponent. And after needing to squeak out a win over Fucsovics in a tight third set, Nadal essentially warned the public that he and Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final earlier this month, were not coming into this match on equal footing as they had for most of the last decade and a half. It showed on the court.

"I am disappointed that I wasn't be able to play at the level -- to raise my level to be a problem for him," Nadal said. "I was not able to put him in difficult positions. I was not able to have enough quality shots, enough quality movements, so he was playing almost all of the time from comfortable positions and he played quite well.

"Playing Novak without creating damage to him, and without having the legs of 20 years ago, is almost impossible now."

Djokovic, too, is not the player he once was. After winning three of the four Grand Slams last year, giving him 24 overall and cementing his legacy as the most accomplished men’s tennis player in history, he has not won a title in 2024 and has admitted to struggling with his motivation at age 37. Whenever Nadal officially exits the game, Djokovic probably won’t be too many years behind.

Djokovic has also had to come back from a knee injury suffered on this very court at the French Open, requiring surgery for a torn meniscus. Djokovic managed to train his way back into playing Wimbledon and caught a soft draw before Alcaraz crushed him in what looked very much like tennis’ long-awaited pass-the-torch moment.

But Djokovic really only had one overarching goal in mind for 2024: Win the Olympics, which is the only big prize he’s never won. With No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner pulling out of the event with toncilitis as well as a handful of other top players, Djokovic has a real chance.

At the same time, it was difficult to gauge Djokovic’s form Monday because the reality is that Nadal was simply not effective in much of anything he tried. It’s a cliché, but it’s true: Father Time really does come for everyone, even the sporting immortals.

The only glimmer of the old Nadal came after falling behind two breaks in the second set, when for about 10 magical minutes he managed to flip the script out of nowhere. With the crowd chanting “Rafa! Rafa!” and waving those red-and-yellow flags that had been scrunched up in their laps for most of the afternoon, Nadal somehow erased the entire deficit and pulled even at 4-4.

"I just tried to do everything I possibly can with my game to make him uncomfortable, to not let him dictate from (the) back of the court," Djokovic said. "Until 6-1, 4-0 I played almost the perfect match. Then four games not so great and he got in, he stepped in and the crowd got involved. It was high pressure moments."

But in the ensuing game, Nadal’s forehand let him down again. A wild swing out wide. A complete mis-hit. A short ball in the middle of the court left for Djokovic to crush. All of them allowed Djokovic to break back and hold off the last gasp.

In the end, it wasn’t as embarrassing as it could have been for Nadal. He can leave Chatrier as a singles player with his pride intact and his head held high. Maybe – probably – for the last time.

"I cannot live every single day with the feeling that it's going to be, or not going to be, my last match," Nadal said. I come here, I try my best, I play and when I decide to stop playing, or when I decide to keep going, I will let you know. I just try my best every single day, trying to enjoy the thing that I have been enjoying for so much time.

"If I feel like I am not competitive enough to keep going, or physically I'm not ready to keep going, (then) I will stop."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rafael Nadal's loss vs. Novak Djokovic suggests his time in tennis is running short