Rafael Nadal, the 14-time French Open champion, was eliminated in the first round of the Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career, losing to Alexander Zverev.
6-3, 7-6 , 6-3 on Monday in what might turn out to be the 14-time Roland Garros champion's last match at his favorite tournament.
It is the first time in his long and illustrious career that Nadal has been beaten in two consecutive matches on clay courts and the first time he has dropped a match earlier than the fourth round at the French Open. His career record at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament is now The match was played with the retractable roof shut at Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday, and the loud cheers for Nadal from most in the capacity crowd of about 15,000 echoed throughout.Nadal, who owns 22 major trophies, turns 38 on June 3 and he has been dealing with hip and abdominal injuries since January 2023, limiting him to 15 matches and an 8-7 record since the start of last year. His infrequent play dropped his ranking to No.
That is why he ended up facing the No. 4-seeded Zverev, the runner-up at the 2020 US Open, a gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics and the only man to reach the semifinals in Paris each of the past three years.
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