Nadal: Murray will be a loss, but the game goes on
Rafael Nadal knew it was inevitable that sooner or later the Big Four would become the Big Three.
That Andy Murray is the first of the long-time leaders in men’s tennis to signal his career’s end is something Nadal has to keep in perspective.
The No.2-ranked Nadal enters the Australian Open as a title contender with No.1 Novak Djokovic and No.3 Roger Federer, both six-time champions at Melbourne Park. Nadal is 32. Djokovic turns 32 in May, a week or so after Murray. Federer is 37.
Five-time finalist Murray plans to start the tournament in Australia, but he has conceded it could be his last after 20 months of struggling to overcome a long-time injury in his hip.
Murray practised on Saturday at Melbourne Park not long before Nadal appeared to talk about his health after three months out of competitive tennis and his prospects at the Australian Open, the only one of the four Grand Slam tournaments that he hasn’t won at least twice.
“Yeah, of course it’s very bad news,” Nadal said of Murray’s tearful news conference the previous day. “[It] will be a very important loss for us, for the world of tennis, for the tour, for the fans, even for the rivals.
“But . . . probably he does the right thing for his mental health.”
Nadal has missed long periods of tennis because of injuries throughout his career, still managing to amass 17 major titles, but has never contemplated a date for retirement.
“I am a positive guy. I always had the feeling that we’ll fix it,” he said. “But, of course, there is periods of time that you don’t see the light. Is tough.”
Federer has credited improvements in travel, in nutrition and in life balance for enabling modern players to extend their careers well into their 30s. He was 35 and coming off a long injury layoff when he revived his career with an Australian Open title in 2017. He successfully defended the title last year, his 20th major.
Nadal’s plan for longevity revolves around playing fewer tournaments and resting persistent injuries. That became less of an option for Murray, who is contemplating further surgery just to cut down on the pain he feels when he’s doing such simple things as putting on his shoes and socks.
The Big Four have dominated the men’s circuit for more than a decade and shared around the major titles with few exceptions, such as Stan Wawrinka’s wins at the 2014 Australian Open, the 2015 French and the 2016 US Open, and Marin Cilic’s victory at the 2014 US Open.
There’s a crop of rising players, including No.4-ranked Sasha Zverev, but much of the attention in the first the couple of days at Melbourne Park will be on Nadal, Murray and Djokovic — who went through juniors together — and Federer.
Nadal will open against Australian James Duckworth in today’s second match on Rod Laver Arena. Federer has a night match against Denis Istomin on the same centre court.
Murray is to play No.22-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut today at Melbourne Arena. Djokovic starts on Day 2 tomorrow.
Nadal recalled a younger Murray — “a little bit a bad boy“— in the under13s and 14s, but was full of praise for how his Scottish friend had evolved.
“At the end of the day you appreciate a lot your rivals because you shared a lot of important moments in our lives,” he said. “I always had a good relationship with him.”
[It] will be a very important loss for us, for the world of tennis, for the tour, for the fans, even for the rivals. Rafael Nadal, of Andy Murray’s retirement