'Merci Paris': Nadal touched by support from fans ahead of 14th French Open title bid

13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal will kick off his 18th Roland Garros appearance against Jordan Thompson on Monday in the opening round of the 2022 edition of the Grand Slam tournament in Paris.

Also read: French Open 2022: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal drawn to possibly meet in quarterfinals

Ahead of his 14th title bid, the 35-year-old Spanish ace has played down concerns over the chronic foot injury that resurfaced in Rome last week and thanked Paris's people for their love and support.

The 21-time Grand Slam champion limped to a third-round loss to Denis Shapovalov at the Italian Open but practised in front of thousands of fans at Roland Garros this week without any apparent discomfort. Fans cherished every moment of Nadal's training session as the Spaniard fired his trademark forehands and backhands.

Taking to Instagram ahead of the French Open 2022, Nadal shared a video where a tsunami of fans gathered around the 'King of Clay' as he left Roland Garros following Friday's practice session.

Watch: Fans gather around Nadal in Paris

"Thank you, Paris ❤️ Gracias 🇫🇷 Very touched for your support before starting this @rolandgarros Thank you very much ☺️😘," wrote Nadal.

Meanwhile, speaking to the media ahead of the tournament, the Spaniard said, "There is nothing to recover. What happened in Rome is something that happens very often in my practices. I was suffering after that for a couple of days, but I feel better. That's why I'm here."

Nadal began the year with a 20-match winning run, capturing a second Australian Open title to claim a record 21st Grand Slam and move ahead of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. The 35-year-old then missed six weeks with a rib injury sustained during his run to the final in Indian Wells, where he suffered his first loss of the season to Taylor Fritz.

Nadal complained of a recurring foot problem in Rome, but he appears confident it can be managed in Paris. "The pain is there always. It's not going to disappear now. It's about if the pain is high and strong enough to allow me to play with real chances or not," he said.

"It's something that I live every day with, so it's nothing new for me and is not a big surprise. So I am here just to play tennis and to try to make the best result possible here in Roland Garros. And if I don't believe that this thing can happen, probably I will not be here," the 13-time French Open champion added.

Nadal, defending champion Djokovic and new teenage star Carlos Alcaraz have been drawn in the same half of the tournament. "In terms of tennis, of course, the top of the draw you see the names, of course, is a very tough one. But we are in a Grand Slam, and you never know what can happen," the Spanish ace said.

Also read: French Open 2022: First look of Alcaraz in Paris as prodigy eyes Grand Slam glory

World number one Djokovic and Nadal, ranked five, are drawn to meet as early as the quarter-finals. Nadal lost to Djokovic in the semi-finals 12 months ago but has an astonishing record of 105 victories against just three defeats at the tournament since his title-winning debut in 2005.

Nadal goes into the French Open without a clay title to his name in 2022 and insists he is not the favourite for a title he has won 13 of the past 17 years. "No, I mean, for sure not, because the results say that I am not, but it is something that never worried much to me. Probably when I was a favourite, I never considered myself the favourite," the Spaniard concluded.