“I have been very close to winning another title there … I love to play on grass”
● Spaniard hasn’t lifted SW19 title for nine years but is all set for grass season
After confirming himself as the king of clay with a 12th French Open title, RAFA NADAL turns his attention to conquering Wimbledon.
Rafael Nadal is hopeful he will again be able to challenge for the Wimbledon title after yet another French Open triumph.
The Spaniard lifted the Coup ed es Mousquet aires for a remarkable 12th time on Sunday, beating Dominic Thiem in four sets.
It is nine years since Nadal won the last of his two titles on the grass of the All England Club.
But, after several years in which adjusting to grass proved problematic for his knees, Nadal appears to have found the right formula.
Two years ago he lost a fivesetter against Gilles Muller in the four th round, while last year he pushed Novak Djokovic all the way in a tremendous two-day semi-final.
Nadal said: “I played a great event last year. I have been very close to winning another title there.
“As everybody knows, I love to play on grass. And, as everybody knows, I am not able to play so many weeks in a row like I did ten years ago, eight years ago. So I have to do my schedule.
“The last two years that I played in Wimbledon, I felt close again. Even if the first year was that match against Muller, I played great tennis there too.
“I was very close to being in the quarter-finals, and last year I was one point away from that final.”
Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya, who said the 33- year-old’ s 12th Roland Garros title was “beyond this world ”, also thinks another Wimbledon title is within reach. He said: “Of course, why not? He lost in the semi-final last year playing a great match. He’s to o good to not be a contender in every tournament he plays.”
N ad al will now prioritise rest and recovery after his clay-court exploits so will not be taking a wild card into the Fever-tree Championships at Queen’s Club. He has entered the tournament for the last three years only to pull out, and sensibly this year decided not to commit.
“I will not play before Wimbledon, of course,” he said. “The experience says that having the right preparation, practising well, and maybe a couple of matches before there (works).
“I felt competitive the last couple of years, so why do I need to change that? What gives me a better chance is being healthy more than playing a lot of matches before.”
This was the second year in a row in which Nadal has beaten Thiem in the final.
The Austrian at least managed a set this time but, after looking like he was right in contention having taken the second set, he made a poor start to the third and won only two more games.
T hi em is th elates tc hallenger to find Nadal at Roland Garros an insurmountable obstacle, but the 25-year-old has time on his side and is improving at a rapid rate.
He said: “It’s very tough. Just the numbers are crazy. He won it 12 times. Twelve times the opponents in the finals failed to beat him.
“S o also, me, I didn’t have the right choices or tactics. It would be amazing to get another chance next year, maybe against him or against anybody else.
“But I saw it again how tough it is to arrive to a grand slam final. So first of all, I have to get there. If that time comes, I will think about how I’ll do even better next year.”