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Nadal: ‘I was close to doing something big’

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Rafael Nadal

“It wasn’t to be, but I was close to having a real chance of doing something big. That’s how I feel.”

One sentence from Rafael Nadal provides huge insight into what was going through the Spaniard’s mind during the days leading up to Roland Garros: the quality of his practice sessions, as well as a lack of physical ailments for the first time in many months led the Mallorcan to believe in his chances of winning another Coupe des Mousquetaires.

Rafael Nadal

“I was ready to take steps forward by winning several matches,” explained the 22-time major champion after losing to Alexander Zverev on Monday.

“It’s something I haven’t felt at any other tournament, and here I did,” he added, referring to his recent outings in Barcelona, Madrid and Rome.

“I played a good match, taking into account how I arrived. At times I played well, really well. In other moments I made mistakes, but you can’t build a house in two days. Even though I played in previous tournaments, I had a week here practising without limits. That’s the reality, only the week before Roland Garros.”

Nadal was progressing in practice leading up to his 19th appearance at the tournament he has dominated for two decades. But luck drew no favours for the 37-year-old as a result of playing with a protected ranking and being unseeded. Nadal would face fourth seed Zverev in his opener.

Although Nadal took it as a challenge, doubling down on his motivation and desire, in reality, he had a mountain to climb. Playing his opener against the German, the recent champion in Rome, was too soon.

“I managed to play without limitations, I fought and I had real chances of taking the match to a completely different situation against one of the best players in the world,” said Nadal. “Two things prevented me from doing it— he is very good, and I needed more [matches] to play with instinct in all those moments and to get the confidence to understand what I had to do in those key points.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve done that.”

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Nadal explained that despite the loss, he is pleased with the physical progress he has made this clay-court swing.

“The last few months have been very intense in every regard. I’m proud of everything I’ve been through to get here. I’ve always had the help of everyone, every day: family, my team, friends… It would have been impossible without them,” he said.

“There were a lot of lows, genuine lows, and many months with no light at the end of the tunnel. I stayed disciplined, but always hopeful, going every day to train and do things as well as I could to have a chance of making it here. And in the end I did it.

“I’m going to take a few days and I’ll see how I feel. In my head, I’ll play the Olympics and then we’ll see.”

Nadal maintains the hope that he can play the 2024 Olympic Games at Roland Garros, where he could represent his country for the final time in his illustrious career.

Rafael Nadal

“I’m confident I’ll be well prepared when I get there, but at the Olympic Games I’ll be in the same situation I’m in now. I could face anyone in the first round,” said Nadal. “It’s a completely different situation to what I’ve had for the rest of my career, regardless of any problems I may have had. If I arrive fit and well — hopefully a little better than today, and feeling that I’ve had a month and a half more of practice and confidence — I’ll come here and enjoy the Olympics. Who knows what might happen afterwards.”

GOLF

Golf’s Favorite Son Returns: Jordan Spieth Makes Rare Appearance Post-Surgery

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Golf's Favorite Son Returns: Jordan Spieth Makes Rare Appearance Post-Surgery

Jordan Spieth had been in insufferable pain in his wrist. And well, this is not something that just happened. The injury dates back to late 2017 when he happened to injure it during an intense training session. However, he did not get it fixed right away and became a victim of some bad swing habits. It has been a lingering issue, to put it simply, until now.

After almost seven long years, he finally decided to take care of his injury. On August 31, Spieth announced on his social media that he underwent a successful surgery to curb the issue. This was right after he competed at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.“I had a procedure on my left wrist last week, as I had mentioned was the plan,”Spieth wrote on X. “The operation went smoothly, and I’m grateful for the exceptional medical team and support of (his wife) Annie and my family.”As it turns out, he has finally reappeared, not on the greens though.

The golfer took to his official Instagram account and shared pictures of what looked like a recent vacation that he took with his beautiful wife Annie. In the caption, he wrote, Out of office!”Well, who would not want to be out of office this way? The glimpses he shared were surreal and picturesque. A perfect vacation it seemed.

This update came after almost two weeks of posting a picture with his son, adorable Sammy, wearing a Texas Longhorns jersey. Now his wrist looks better, but that was not the case 15 days after surgery. Speith was seen at the junior fundraiser event, Crush It! Cup. At that time, Spieth’s left arm had the cast, and he could barely move it. Some time ago, Spieth was also spotted alongside Scottie Scheffler as they made it to the 48th governor of Texas, Greg Abbot’s house. There, Spieth could even hold a placard in his left hand.

While the couple looked adorable together and Jordan Spieth looked a lot better, the golf community fixated only on one question throughout the comments section.

The Golf Community is curious about Jordan Spieth’s comeback

Jordan Spieth’s last appearance was almost three months ago, trying to qualify for the 2024 BMW Championship and make it to the Tour Championship. And well, the St. Jude Classic was not his best performance. He scored a disappointing 9-over to drop down to a T68 on the leaderboard after the final round. Now, only the top 50 were to make it to the next event for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, so he did not qualify.

Two weeks later, his surgery being successful was announced. Fans have been waiting to see him play some of his best golf ever since. Taking to this, one of them wrote, “Back better than ever champ”.Another asked him, “When are you coming back, king?”Spieth aims to return to the 2025 season in January with better practice and energy.

The 31-year-old has managed to grab 13 PGA Tour wins and has almost always been a fan favorite. However, the entire 2024 season was what one might call one of his worst career years. Appearing in twenty-two events, he missed cuts in seven of them. His only top-10 finishes came during the first four months of the season, after which his performance only kept declining.

Fans suspect that this might be due to the daunting pain. And now that he is back after the successful surgery, Spieth will get back to his best form. Taking to this, one of them wrote, 😍you look great Jordan. Looking forward to seeing you back on the golf ⛳️ course. Stay strong 🙏🙏”.

The American professional has three major wins in his career. He won the Masters in 2015, the US Open in the same year, and the Open Championship in 2017. The only major he is to grab a win at is the PGA Championship to complete his grand slam. Well, fans are speculating that it won’t be long before he can achieve the feat. Taking this, one of them wrote, “Grand slam incoming”.

While others worried about his prolonged wrist injury commented on his healing process. While one of them asked him, “How’s the wrist?”another simply suggested, “Keep resting up the wrist, King.”.

 

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Lifestyle

‘Accept Nothing Less’ – Serena Williams’ Husband Alexis Ohanian Gets Fiercely Passionate About His ‘Women’s Sports’ Slogan in Rousing UVA Speech

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Alexis Ohanian is more than just a tech mogul and Serena Williams’ biggest fan—he’s a passionate advocate for women’s sports.

Whether it’s through investing in the game or speaking up for equality, the Reddit co-founder never shies away from pushing for the changes he wants to see. And his recent visit to his alma mater was no different.

Taking the stage, Ohanian once again championed the challenges women face in sports, reminding the athletes of the opportunities they deserve.

The 41-year-old visited the University of Virginia to cheer up for the women’s basketball team. Ohanian ensured to boost their confidence with an intriguing message as he reflected that women athletes deserve immense limelight just like their male counterparts and expressed his desire to keep working to support them throughout their careers.

In a video that surfaced on Instagram, Ohanian can be seen addressing some female basketball players. He promised that the next time he visits them, he would try to bring his wife, Williams, as well. He lauded the coach of the team as well and said, “Coach, credit to you too.

Their foundation starts here. It’s just so compelling and I see it out there. It’s gonna be a lot of fun to watch this program.” But what caught the attention was his remarkable admiration for female athletes and his desire to bring about a change.

Speaking further to the athletes, Ohanian said, “I will keep doing the work on the court and off the court, will take care of the rest. This is the era of excellence of women in sports.

So no matter how you are thinking like ‘how, well, should I do it now,’ like You all DESERVE EVERY BIT OF THIS!” Continuing further, he also motivated them to understand their worth.

“There is a new bar, there is a new standard Accept nothing less.” Ohanian has continued to take several measures to promote women’s sports and one such example was his initiative in the form of Athlos NYC.

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Jordan Spieth Responds to Online Rumors: “It’s a Set-Up, I’m Being Blackmailed”

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Golf star Jordan Spieth has hit back against rumors circulating online, calling them a “set-up” and claiming he is the target of blackmail.

The three-time major champion took to social media to set the record straight after false information began spreading across various platforms.

In a strongly worded post, Spieth stated, “There’s a lot of misinformation being shared right now. This is nothing more than a calculated set-up, and I am being blackmailed.”

Although he did not elaborate on the nature of the rumors, Spieth emphasized that the claims have no basis in truth and warned fans not to believe unverified stories circulating on the internet.

Spieth’s team is reportedly investigating the origins of the rumors and has hinted that legal action could be pursued against those responsible.

“We’re living in a time where anyone can say anything online without evidence,” one of Spieth’s representatives shared in a statement. “Jordan is committed to maintaining his focus on the game and protecting his reputation from these baseless attacks.”

With no official comment yet from law enforcement, fans are rallying in support of Spieth, expressing their disappointment in the prevalence of online misinformation.

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