'I hope so but I don't know' - Toni Nadal hopes Rafael Nadal retirement talk at French Open is premature

With Rafael Nadal having admitted that a potential retirement from tennis could be on the horizon, his uncle and former coach, Toni Nadal, has given his thoughts on the matter. The 35-year-old had to be at his battling, doughty best to see off Felix Auger-Aliassime in a classic five-set marathon clash to book a quarter-final showdown with his old rival, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, at Roland-Garros.

Ad/> Nadal moved ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer at the top of the men’s all-time charts with his 21st Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open in January despite his ongoing injury torment. Roland-GarrosNadal v Djokovic is ‘biggest’ rivalry in tennis history – Corretja3 HOURS AGO However, his preparation for the clay-court Grand Slam was interrupted due to the return of his chronic foot problem, with Nadal having admitted in his press conference that he is aware of how precious every match is at this stage of his career. “I am in the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros,” Nadal said.

“I am just enjoying the fact I am here for one more year. “Being honest, every match that I play here I do not know if it will be the last match here in Roland-Garros in my tennis career. That is my situation now.

“I went through a tough process again with my foot. I do not know what will happen in the near future with my career, so I am just trying to enjoy and fight as much as I can to keep living the dream. I hope to give myself a chance to play at the highest level possible and then let’s see.” Speaking in an interview with Onda Cero, Toni Nadal said he was still optimistic that this would not be his nephew's final Roland-Garros.

«I hope so but I don't know,» he said. «I haven't talked about it more than necessary with him. I hope he