Alexander Zverev sends stern warning to Rafael Nadal in threat to ruin French Open goodbye | Tennis | Sport

Alexander Zverev is expecting ‘peak’ Rafael Nadal in their French Open clash on Sunday. The German has the unenviable task of facing the 14-time Roland Garros champion in what is expected to be his final outing at the tournament.

Nadal has entered the French Open ranked 276th and is set to bid farewell after a tough few years which have been hampered by injuries. The Spaniard faces a tricky first-round test against Italian Open champion Zverev.

Many are expecting Zverev to ease past Nadal and go on to fight for the Grand Slam. However, the 27-year-old says he expected Nadal – dubbed the King of Clay due to his French Open legendary status – to be at his best on his favourite surface.

Asked if it is difficult to separate playing the ‘statue’ of the iconic opponent with playing Nadal the person, Zverev said: “You are playing the statue. I mean, you’re not playing the statue, you’re playing the actual person. But you are playing Rafa Nadal. For me, in my mind, I’m going to play peak Rafa Nadal.

“That’s what I expect him to be. I expect him to be at his absolute best. I expect him to play the best tennis he’s played in a long time on this court.

“There’s always been discussion. I mean, 2022 I remember he came into Roland Garros not winning Monte-Carlo, not winning Madrid, not winning Rome. He came into this tournament, everybody was like, ‘oh, he’s a big question mark, he’s this and that.’ He came and dominated the entire tournament.

“So in my mind, I think he’s going to be peak Rafa Nadal. I think he’s going to be at his best, and that’s my mindset going into this match.”

Zverev revealed that he thought his brother was ‘joking’ when it was revealed to him that he was to play Nadal in the first round.

“I was on court with (Andrey) Rublev yesterday on Chatrier practising, and then after the practice was over, which was actually a great practice, my brother told me,” the World No. 4 continued.

“I actually thought he was joking in the beginning. But then, yeah, it is what it is. I mean, obviously, to be very honest, I wanted to play Rafa again in my career, in his career, because I didn’t want my last memory of me playing against Rafa to be me leaving the court in a wheelchair.

“Ideally, I would have liked to play him in the latter stage of the tournament. It’s a tough draw, but it’s a tough draw for both of us. We’ll see how it goes on Monday.”