'I'm here to play tennis': Nadal's sharp response to Zverev's bold ‘Rafa will retire at Rolland Garros' prediction

Nadal with a total of 22 grand slam titles to his name is currently the leader while Djokovic is at the second position with 21 titles. Both players are nearing the twilight of their careers with their ages running out.

Published on: Jan 15, 2023, 16:32:08 IST

By HT Sports Desk

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Of the big three in men's tennis, Swiss legend Roger Federer has retired and only Spain's Rafael Nadal and Serbia's Novak Djokovic remain. Both Nadal and Djokovic are taking part in the Australian Open 2023 which begins from Monday. The two are looking to add on to the tally of their grand slam titles to become the highest ever winner in history.

Nadal with a total of 22 grand slam titles to his name is currently the leader while Djokovic is at the second position with 21 titles. Both players are nearing the twilight of their careers with their ages running out. As the Australian Open gets underway, speculations were made that 36-year-old Nadal might hang his racquet this year. In fact, World No.13 Alexander Zverev even made a prediction about the same and had said that the Spaniard would announce his retirement after French Open 2023.

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Clearing the air, Nadal has shared that he has no such plans of retirement currently and that he hadn't made any such confessions to Germany's Zverev.

“I have a very good relationship with Zverev, but not enough to confess something like that to him,” Nadal said at a press conference in Melbourne.

“The reality is that I'm here to play tennis, try to have a great 2023, fight for everything that I have struggled throughout my career and I don't think about my retirement,” he added.

Defending Champions Nadal has been seeded No.1 in men's singles of the Australian Open 2023 and he will take on Britain's Jack Draper on Monday. Norway's Casper Ruud, Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas and Djokovic are the No.2, No.3 and No.4 seeds respectively in the competition.

In women's singles, Poland's Iga Swiatek is seeded No.1 while Tunisia's Ons Jabeur and USA's Jessica Pegula are the No.2 and No.3 seeds respectively.

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