I don't think I've lost too much by quitting tennis, because as long as I've played, I've given everything to the game, I'm coming here very happy and calm.
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Spanish star Rafael Nadal doesn't feel like he's missing out on much after quitting tennis. Nadal, who won 22 Grand Slams, retired from tennis last year. The French Open bid him an emotional farewell on Sunday. This is the tournament where he won a record 14 times. He was officially bid farewell at Roland Garros on the first day of the tournament. This opportunity has come six months after he last played.
"I don't feel like I'm missing out on much by quitting tennis, because as long as I've been playing, I've given everything to the sport. I am coming here today very happy and calm. It was such a situation, which was not possible while playing. Now my body doesn't allow me to play like before. So I'm really calm. I did everything in my playing career that I thought I should do. Now I am enjoying a new life.'
Nadal added, 'There is no excitement in life now, which used to be on the court. What I am saying is that what sport can give someone happiness and pleasure, it is not possible for anyone else to give it. But that doesn't mean I'm less happy now. Nadal is now 38 years old. He retired in November. Since then, he has not held a tennis racket even once. Instead, he is focused on his own tennis academy. Along with
, he is also busy with his charity foundation and business ventures. "I really haven't touched a racket since I retired. That's why I haven't even gone to court for the last 6 months. But I will be back on the court one day. At that time, my aim will be to participate in the exhibition match. Now Nadal looks more towards the golf course. As competitive as he was on the tennis court, he was nowhere near that competitive in golf.
I don't know why this happens. In my opinion, even if I lose in golf, it doesn't really affect me. If I win I just think, I played well today. It will be a strange experience for me. I especially didn't want this experience ever to happen. Especially the sport I understood was of a different kind. But this is already history. Thousands of supporters gathered at Philippe-Cartier Court to watch Nadal's farewell.
Addressing them, Nadal said, 'I am finding it difficult to even talk. I don't even know where to start. I have been playing on this court continuously for the last 20 years. In that process, I have won and lost as well. But whenever I got a chance, I started to play. Nadal saw more victories than defeats at the French Open. His performance in the French Open is like this, 112 wins and four losses.
He also played in the final 14 times. Be victorious in all. "There is no doubt about the fact that this is the most important court of my playing life," he said. In this process, Nadal thanked all his coaches, parents, wife. His supporters did not forget to clap at his every sentence. On the occasion of this farewell, the biggest rival of his sporting life was also present. They were Roger Federer of Switzerland, Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Andy Murray of Great Britain.
