Yet the warrior-like instincts kicked in and we were all reminded that Nadal, as long as he is standing, remains a physical and psychological force of nature on a tennis court.
Nadal will resume his fight to stay in the French Open on Thursday
Images from Day 13 of the French Open, at Roland Garros, in Paris.
Alcaraz also found a surprising source of joy and mental training on the green: golf!
Although hampered by a chronic foot injury that saw him out in the last 16 of the Italian Open, an event that precedes the French Open, the 21-time Grand Slam champion has looked pain-free in his bid for a 14th French Open crown.
Nadal's unbeaten streak of 20 matches in the year 2022 came to an end as he lost to Taylor Fritz
Nadal arrived in Paris with his own doctor to get through the tournament despite the injury.
While taking questions about his first round victory, the World No 2 spotted a journalist snoozing away in the corner of the room.
Nadal believes he had no reason to feel alarmed ahead of the season's first Grand Slam starting in two weeks.
'He told me that (I had) a great run, and I told him again, 'bravo'.'
However, the 33-year-old Spaniard will not know until later on Friday whether his Herculean effort was in vain.
He was drawn in the toughest half of the draw with Nadal as well as in-form Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz and world number three Alexander Zverev, who could clash in the last eight.
Rafael Nadal said he feels sorry for Novak Djokovic after the world number one was denied entry into Australia but added that the Serb knew for months he could potentially face problems if he arrived without being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Rafael Nadal ruled the court on Sunday night but it was not just tennis that caused a racket at the US Open. Take a look at the celebs who were at courtside.
Rafael Nadal maintained his ominous claycourt form by seizing back the Barcelona Open title from Kei Nishikori with a 6-4, 7-5 victory on Sunday, matching Guillermo Vilas's record title haul on the surface.
Fourteen-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal has confirmed he will join world number one Andy Murray in this summer's Aegon Championships at Queen's Club.
Rafael Nadal said he was lucky to be part of an era of tennis that included Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic after the Spaniard won a men's record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open to move one ahead of his two great rivals.
Alcaraz has been seen as fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal's successor on the Paris clay.
Like a stern headmaster, a clearly irritated Rafael Nadal beckoned Lorenzo Sonego to the net and gave him an earful about the etiquette of tennis in front of 15,000 wide-eyed fans and a global audience of millions.
Denis Shapovalov said his Australian Open quarter-final opponent Rafael Nadal "100%" receives preferential treatment from officials and benefited from favouritism during the Spaniard's five-set victory on Tuesday.
It was an intense training session for the visiting Spanish tennis team that turned into fun watching for a few fans gathered at the DLTA complex as Marc Lopez and Rafael Nadal aimed at empty ball boxes with their serves. David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez were first to hit the courts in the morning session and once they were done with their routine practice -- the groundstrokes, the volleys and the serves -- in came Nadal and began his drill under scorching heat.
Nadal has traditionally started his French Open campaigns with at least one claycourt title under his belt but this year got to the French capital empty-handed.
Frances Tiafoe said his days of flying under the radar were over
Their epic rivalry includes three successive Wimbledon finals from 2006
Rafael Nadal set up an Italian Open semi-final with Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday thanks to a 6-4, 6-0 win over Fernando Verdasco.
A defiant Rafael Nadal won an all-Spanish clash of the generations taming teenager Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to stretch his winning run to 20 matches on Saturday and clinch a place in the Indian Wells final. He will take on American Taylor Fritz in Sunday's championship in the California desert where a victory would see the 35-year-old equal Novak Djokovic's record of 37 ATP Masters 1000 titles.
Resurgent Spanish great Rafael Nadal will have the rare privilege of playing on a court named after him when he meets Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva in the last 32 of the Barcelona Open on Wednesday.
World number one Rafael Nadal said on Wednesday he would skip the Asian leg of the ATP tour to recover from the knee injury he picked up at the US Open, a decision that will boost Novak Djokovic's chances of ending the year top of the rankings.
Teen sensation Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev have both said they would not want their quarter-final, also on Tuesday, to be scheduled during the night session.
Roger Federer, being the gentleman he is, accepted Rafael Nadal's invite to launch the 9-time French Open champion's tennis academy in Spain.
World number one Rafael Nadal on Sunday inaugurated the Nadal Tennis School at the Anantapur Sports Village in Anantapur town of Andhra Pradesh and interacted with young tennis players.
Here's a look at Nadal's other early exits from the tournament:
Daniil Medvedev will play Rafael Nadal for the Australian Open title on Sunday after a stirring victory over Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-final on Friday.
Girlfriend Xisca Perello, sister Maria Isabel Nadal and mother Ana Maria Parera help him restore the balance away from the courts.
Novak Djokovic turned on the style to outclass old adversary Rafael Nadal and reach the final of the ATP World Tour Finals with a 6-3, 6-3 victory at the 02 Arena in London, on Saturday.
Italy's Sinner and Spain's Alcaraz have won two Grand Slams each this year, with Alcaraz beating Sinner in closely fought clashes at the French Open semi-finals and the China Open final.
The 35-year-old also paid tribute to Messi, who played for Real's arch-rivals Barcelona.
The 31-year-old Spaniard has not played since he withdrew from the season-ending World Tour Finals in London in November with a knee injury. He had already withdrawn from an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi that starts later on Thursday.
Three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe has advised Rafael Nadal to sack his long-term coach, uncle Toni and 'get a new damn coach' to get back to top form.
Team Europe's Nadal was scheduled to take on Team World's Nick Kyrgios in his singles clash before partnering Swiss Federer to face John Isner and Jack Sock.
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