Rafael Nadal says he will decide in “the next couple of days” about his preparations for Wimbledon after winning a record-extending 11th French Open title.
The Spaniard, 32, defeated Dominic Thiem in Sunday’s final at Roland Garros to prevent the Austrian securing a maiden major victory in Paris.
Attention now switches to the grass court campaign with the next Grand Slam at the All England Club in three weeks’ time, while Nadal is scheduled to feature at Queen’s Club in the Fever-Tree Championships next week.
“I would love to be playing in as many places as possible, but you understand I need to check how I feel in the next couple of days,” said Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon champion.
“But it’s time to check how I feel in the next couple of days.”
Who has Rafael Nadal beaten to win his 11 French Open titles?
| Year | Opponent | Result |
| 2005 | Mariano Puerta | 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 6-1 7-5 |
| 2006 | Roger Federer | 1-6 6-1 6-4 7-6 (7-4) |
| 2007 | Roger Federer | 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-4 |
| 2008 | Roger Federer | 6-1 6-3 6-0 |
| 2010 | Robin Soderling | 6-4 6-2 6-4 |
| 2011 | Roger Federer | 7-5 7-6 (7-3) 5-7 6-1 |
| 2012 | Novak Djokovic | 6-4 6-3 2-6 7-5 |
| 2013 | David Ferrer | 6-3 6-2 6-3 |
| 2014 | Novak Djokovic | 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-4 |
| 2017 | Stan Wawrinka | 6-2 6-3 6-1 |
| 2018 | Dominic Thiem | 6-4 6-3 6-2 |
Nadal’s triumph in the French capital moved the world No 1 to 17 Grand Slam victories and within three of his long-time adversary Roger Federer but he insists overhauling the Swiss player’s record is not a burning motivation.
“I have never been crazy about this kind of stuff,” said Nadal.
“You can’t live with this feeling. Of course I would love to have 20 like Roger in the future or even more but it’s not something that is on my mind.”
Nadal won a tightly contested first set against Thiem, the only player on tour to have beaten him on clay in the past two years, before asserting his authority, only to suffer cramping in his finger during the third set – something he described as “scary”.
Federer opted to skip the entire clay court season for a second year running and Nadal is realistic about what further accomplishments he can achieve in the remainder of his career.
“You can’t fight against age and you can’t fight against the watch. The watch keeps going always. So that’s it,” he said.
“If you tell me seven, eight years ago that I will be here at 32 years old having this trophy with me again, I will tell you that is something almost impossible, but here we are.
“So I am not much worried about the future. Tennis is a very important part of my life, without a doubt, but is not everything.”
Meanwhile, Thiem was unable to repeat his victory against Nadal from the Madrid Masters last month, despite an impressive 34 winners and seven aces on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The 24-year-old, who was bidding to become only the second Austrian – male of female – to win a Grand Slam, will climb a place to world No 7 in the rankings after reaching his first major showpiece encounter.
“He [Nadal] was playing very well, I think, and there is a reason why he won 11 times here,” Thiem said.
“It’s definitely one of the best things somebody ever achieved in sport. For sure, me, I’m confident that this was not my last Grand Slam final, and that’s my biggest goal, to get into the next one and then to do it better than today.
“But if you win a Grand Slam tournament 11 times, one single one, then this is just very exceptional and amazing.
“You need to have, I think, many extraordinary skills and talents and work ethic to achieve that.”
Will Nadal go on to add a third Wimbledon title to his Grand Slam haul and move closer to Roger Federer’s record?
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