World No 1 also reveals he has no burning desire to surpass great rival Roger Federer's 20 Grand Slam titles.
Tuesday 12 June 2018 13:34, UK
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've had long and mentally tough clay-court season because I played almost all the matches possible after coming from an injury. So was a demanding two months for me," said Nadal, the two-time Wimbledon champion.
"Now I have to come back to speak with my team and decide what's better for my body. That's the main thing, always.
"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.
"It's a drastic change from clay to grass. And I did it in the past when I was much younger, quicker, because I played back to back.
"But it's time to check how I feel in the next couple of days."
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 always be frustrated if somebody has more money than you, a bigger house than you, if somebody has more Grand Slams than you.
"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.
"Tennis is a very important part of my life, without a doubt, but is not everything."
"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?
Comment below to get involved in the debate, but please adhere to our House Rules. If you wish to report any comment, simply click on the down arrow next to the offending comment and click 'Report'.
