"I'm not a big fan of things that could happen, 'if' is a dangerous word" - Rafael Nadal after 1R win at French Open
Rafael Nadal refused to look too far ahead into the future after opening his Roland Garros 2022 campaign with a facile 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 win over Australian Jordan Thompson on Monday.
The fifth seed commenced his quest for a record-extending 14th title at the claycourt Major 10 days after losing to Denis Shapovalov in the third round in Rome. Following his loss to the Canadian, Nadal said he was playing with discomfort in his foot, prompting speculation about his Roland Garros chances.
However, the 35-year-old showed no signs of any injury on Monday, beating Thompson for the second time in as many meetings to improve to 18-0 in Roland Garros first-round matches.
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In a press conference following his win, Rafael Nadal was coy about his level of confidence and refused to speculate about his injury.
"How is my level of confidence, how the things would be or if I didn't get injured, I don't know. We never know. So I'm not a big fan of think about the things that could happen if -- "if" is a dangerous word."
"Of course the confidence is higher when you win Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, or Rome" - Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal said that his confidence would have been better had he won one of the claycourt events leading up to Roland Garros. However, a rib fracture sustained at Indian Wells meant he had to skip Monte-Carlo and Barcelona.
Returning to action in Madrid, Nadal made the quarterfinals, losing to eventual winner Carlos Alcaraz. At his next stop in Rome, he endured his earliest Masters 1000 defeat in five years, losing to Denis Shapovalov in the third round.
Nadal stressed that despite a less-than-ideal start to his claycourt season, he's ready to give his best at Roland Garros.
"Of course the confidence is higher when you win Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, or Rome. Without a doubt things are easy in this world to understand, no? When you are winning more matches and more tournaments you have better confidence. When this is not the case, things are different. I got injured, and that's it. What happened is past, and here we are. We are in Roland Garros. I am here to try my best."
Meanwhile, with his win over Thompson, Rafael Nadal broke a tie with Roger Federer (105) for most wins by a male player at a single Grand Slam tournament.
Most match wins at Grand Slams:
106 - Nadal (Roland Garros)
105 - Federer (Wimbledon)
102 - Federer (Australian Open)
98 - Connors (US Open)
89 - Federer (US Open)
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The Spaniard is now one short of his 300th match win in Majors.