"Now I have to go home, I have to take care of more important things than tennis," said the 36-year-old Spaniard, whose wife is pregnant.

According to Spanish media, she was hospitalized but, without denying it, Nadal had assured at the start of the tournament that she was "well".

“Then we will make the decisions that need to be made, depending on what happens in my personal life, which comes before my professional life,” he added.

“If all goes well”, Nadal still hopes to play in the fall in Europe, where the Paris Masters 1000, the ATP Finals (ex-End-of-year Masters) and the Davis Cup final phase are scheduled.

If the US Open ends on a bitter note, the Mallorcan could nevertheless have recovered the place of world No.1, automatically ceded by Daniil Medvedev who failed to defend his American title beyond the round of 16.

However, by leaving New York prematurely, Nadal gives his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz and the Norwegian Casper Ruud a chance to sit on the throne he was sure to recover if he had reached the final.

Major record

Because after a second half of 2021 white due to pain in the left foot, and a Covid caught in December, Nadal wrote a new page in the history of tennis in January 2022 by winning the Australian Open (in end of a titanic final against Medvedev), becoming the first player to win 21 Grand Slam titles.

He even won the first three tournaments he played in 2022. Then he reached the Indian Wells Masters 1000 final where, diminished by a rib injury, he bowed out.

Returning to competition on clay, he proved to be superhuman at Roland-Garros, where he used anesthetic injections to overcome unbearable foot pain and win the tournament for the 14th time!

And bring the record to 22 Major titles.

#photo1

Back at Wimbledon, it was an abdominal tear that forced him to forfeit before his semi-final.

Physically recovered, he returned to New York for the first time since his title in 2019. Not very convincing in the first three rounds, he and failed to overcome the obstacle Frances Tiafoe in the round of 16.

"My First Child"

"I tried. I had trained quite well, I was happy with my preparation. Maybe I lacked a bit of freshness, breaking in, things that were difficult to explain, and tranquility," he said he noted, assuring, as usual, above all not to seek excuses.

"You can analyze, find excuses, review everything that has happened in recent months, but the reality is quite simple: I didn't play well and when you don't play well, you don't win. I didn't know how to rise to the level I should have in this tournament, that's it," Nadal summed up.

In lack of competition, a physique probably not quite 100% and especially a less intense psychological commitment than usual will have been right for the course of the Spaniard.

But not enough to tarnish the champion's season, according to his compatriot and former world No.2 Alex Corretja.

"For me, it's a miracle that Rafa won in Australia and at Roland-Garros, so what can I say? He's our icon, he's the best example for our sport and, if he lost today ( Monday), Frances (Tiafoe) must have played at an incredible level because he gave everything he had”, underlined Corretja, consultant on Eurosport.

#photo2

The interested party is far from these considerations: "I will end the year with something much more important, my first child".

© 2022 AFP