"Battling to overcome both my parents’ separation and the pain in my knees" - When Rafael Nadal reflected on preparing for French Open 2009
Rafael Nadal once said that he prepared for the 2009 French Open while battling to overcome his parents' separation and a knee injury.
The Spaniard entered the tournament as the defending champion with a 100% win record, and reached the fourth round with wins over Marcos Daniel, Teymuraz Gabashvili and Lleyton Hewitt. However, he was beaten 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(2) by eventual runner-up Robin Soderling. This was his very first defeat at the French Open.
Nadal wrote in his memoir "Rafa" that he shouldn't have competed at the French Open but had to do so as he felt obliged to defend his title.
"Maybe I should not have competed in Roland Garros, but I had won the championship the previous four years and I felt a duty to defend my crown, however unlikely the prospect of victory felt. Sure enough, I lost in the fourth round to Robin Soderling of Sweden, my first ever defeat in that tournament," the Spaniard said.
The King of Clay added that he tried hard to be in shape for the French Open while battling to overcome his parents' separation and a knee injury. He stated that he was debilitated in mind and body, which eventually prompted him to withdraw from Wimbledon where he was also the defending champion.
"This finally pushed me over the edge. I’d made a huge effort to be in shape for Roland Garros, battling to overcome both my parents’separation and the pain in my knees, but now I knew that, debilitated in mind and body, I could no longer keep going," the Spaniard wrote.
"Terribly sad, I pulled out of Wimbledon, giving up on the chance to defend a title that had been so hard-won, the year before and meant so much to me. My knees were the immediate reason, but I knew that the root cause was my state of mind. My competitive zeal had waned, the adrenaline had dried up," he added.
Rafael Nadal ended the 2009 season with 66 wins from 80 matches, triumphing in five tournaments. He also helped Spain win the Davis Cup, prevailing in both his singles matches in the final against Czech Republic.
Rafael Nadal has won 14 French Open titles so far
Rafael Nadal is the most successful competitor in the history of the French Open with 14 titles to his name. After winning four straight titles from 2005-2008, he won five in a row from 2009-2014.
Nadal missed out on the clay-court Major in the following two years before winning another four tournaments on the trot from 2017-2020. He lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2021 semifinals before winning his 14th title in Paris in 2022 by beating Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the final.
The Spaniard was unable to defend his title this season due to a hip injury he suffered at the Australian Open.