Rafael Nadal calls it "natural" to be drawn in the same half as Federer & Djokovic, says he is "not worried" about it
Rafael Nadal has been drawn in the same half as Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at Roland Garros 2021, to the dismay of many. However, the man himself believes this is a "natural" state of affairs given the rapid rise of the Next Gen.
Rafael Nadal is the firm favorite to defend his Roland Garros crown in Paris over the next fortnight. The Spaniard is vying for his 14th French Open title and a record 21st Grand Slam trophy, which would move him ahead of Roger Federer.
But Nadal has his work cut out. Seeded third, he is likely to take on Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev in the fourth round and quarterfinals respectively. He could then face either Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer in the semifinals, both of whom would be desperate to prevent him lifting a 21st Major.
Speaking to the media prior to the start of his Roland Garros campaign, the 34-year-old dismissed any concerns about the difficulty of his path, and asserted that he was willing to accept any "consequences".
"I see it as natural," Nadal said. "One player is almost 40 (Federer), another is almost 35 (Nadal) and the other is 34 (Djokovic). It seems logical that younger players climb in the rankings. Whenever happens you have these consequences. I see it as completely normal. I'm not worried about it. I have a lot of work in front of me to play a potential match versus Djokovic."
Rafael Nadal also claimed he was not looking beyond his first-round clash with Alexei Popyrin.
"They would need to play each other and I have my own path," the Spaniard added. "My path right now is Popyrin and that's where my mind is. My draw is hard enough to be thinking about anything else. I must continue my preparation, focus on my routines and keep advancing in the way we want."
"Society is radicalized and tense" - Rafael Nadal on criticism from Mallorca fans for congratulating Villarreal
Rafael Nadal made headlines for a slightly awkward matter in his hometown of Mallorca earlier this week. The Spaniard was criticised in the local media after he congratulated Villarreal for defeating Manchester United in the final of the UEFA Europa League on Wednesday.
Rafael Nadal is an honorary member of RCD Mallorca, where his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal played before moving on to Barcelona. That is probably why fans of Mallorca hit out at the 34-year-old after he failed to comment on the club's promotion from Spain's second division.
But Nadal defended his comments, and pointed out that he comes from an era during which social media didn't exist. He also criticized the media for publishing news of "little importance and meaning."
"Society is radicalized and tense, it is a fact," Rafael Nadal said. "But I come from another era, without social networks. The problem is that things that have little importance and little meaning are published in the media.
"People on social networks, they have little responsibility. Those who write in the media do and should have a sense of what should be news. The networks have positive and negative things. What is not good is that the media enter in things that have no importance or sense," he added.
The Spaniard also issued a clarification through his own Twitter account on Friday.
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