Marie-José Pérec, French sports icon who made the draw for Roland-Garros this Thursday, “resents a little at (her) hand” for having given Rafael Nadal a difficult first round against the world number 4 Alexander Zverev, for what has every chance of being his final participation.
“My little hand could have been kinder to Nadal, right? I blame my hand a little, grimaced the former three-time Olympic champion athlete. When I heard the “wow” in the room (of the draw, Editor’s note), I said to myself “oh shit.”
“We wanted to see him (Nadal) start differently, slowly to go far, but now, suddenly, he will have to look for something very strong to start. He is unusual but we could have given him a little gift at the start, she joked. I would like us to start again (the draw) and kick out all the big seeds, and do something for him.”
“Of course ! Now that I’ve screwed him up, I have to come and support him,” said Pérec. For her, the Spaniard is an inspiring person. “He’s a hard worker, who doesn’t give up, that’s what I like. When I look at him, when I listen to him, what I feel is that he is someone who goes beyond what can be done. I find it very inspiring,” she concluded.