Rafael Nadal loses in first round of French Open for first time - ESPN

PARIS, France — Rafael Nadal's potential final run at the men's singles French Open title ended in the first round as he fell to Alexander Zverev in straight sets on Monday afternoon.

There were hopes Nadal would make yet another fairytale run here at Roland Garros, but No.4 seed Zverev dispatched him 6-3, 7-5 (5), 6-3 in 3 hours and 5 minutes.

Nadal said after the defeat there is a «big percentage» this will be his final French Open. But he still intends to return to Roland Garros to compete in the Olympics later this summer.

«I don't know what's going to happen in the next few months,» he said. «I need to finish all this process. My mindset was ready till Olympics, you know, and then I need to check how I feel in different ways, I mean, in terms of personal motivation, body feelings, and then in terms of level of tennis it [may] make sense to keep playing.»

Nadal said playing Wimbledon «looks difficult» as he is likely to remain focused on the clay court. «My main goal now is to play Olympics. That's going to be here. So I need to prepare myself the proper way to try to arrive here healthy and well-prepared, and then let's see.»

On Monday in Paris, the nostalgia was inescapable. For so long Nadal, 37, has held this place in the palm of his hand, winning an astonishing 14 singles titles here, to make it 22 Grand Slams overall. They already have a statue honoring him here, and in front of a packed Court Philippe-Chatrier, his adoring fans were hoping for one more fairytale run. The trumpets in the crowd heralded any break of serve, Nadal's fist pumps whipped the crowd up into a Rafa frenzy, but it was not to be.

It had that feeling of a farewell to a beloved son of these parts, with Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga