French Open 2024: Rafael Nadal suffers first round exit for the first time
‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal who had dominated the clay courts of Paris for nearly two decades had to face defeat in the first round of the French Open against German fourth seed Alexander Zverev on Monday. It was Nadal’s first match at the French Open since winning the title in Paris in 2022. This was Nadal’s earliest exit at the French Open. Nadal, a record 14-time winner at Roland Garros, lost in straight sets 3-6, 6-7(5) and 3-6. It was the Spaniard’s fourth defeat at the French Open since his debut in 2005.
Zverev, the 27-year-old German, became the first player to defeat Nadal before the fourth round at Roland-Garros and joining Robin Soderling and Novak Djokovic as the third player to defeat Nadal on Paris soil.
Nadal had never played unseeded at Roland-Garros, and had never faced a top 10 player in the first round. He had never lost consecutive sets at the French Open, but Zverev changed all that with a brilliant performance.
Zverev became the third player after Robin Soderling and Novak Djokovic to defeat Nadal in a clay-court Slam. Nadal had to face defeat by Soderling in the fourth round in 2009. In 2016 and 2021, he was defeated by Djokovic in the third round and semi-finals respectively. Nadal, ranked 275th in the world, faced a poor start in the match losing the first set 6–3, he tried to stage a comeback in the second set by taking it to the tie-breaker but eventually lost 7-5 in the tie-break.
For now, Nadal will continue to test himself against the world’s best players, with plans to return to Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games.
