This was the beginning of the end, rather than a finite end itself for Rafael Nadal.

Watched by fellow stars such as Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, Nadal almost apologetically said he was not sure if his 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 defeat by world No4 Alexander Zverev would be his last at the French Open.

He will be back in Paris in late July, using his protected ranking of No10 to compete in both the singles and doubles at the Olympic Games.

It is unlikely, though, that a British audience will get an opportunity to bid him farewell, with Nadal hinting he plans to miss Wimbledon, which starts on July 1, in order to keep his focus on the clay for the Paris Games.

Nadal turns 38 on Monday and, prior to the clay-court season, had said this was likely his last summer in the sport. But some solid early results on the surface, allied to his body feeling good, has seen that end date potentially shift.

Yesterday's match was the rarity of him being an underdog at a Major where he is a 14-time champion and where he had previously lost just three times in 115 encounters.

Even in defeat, it was clear he was the main draw, the crowd repeatedly chanting his name and Zverev reading the room well enough to answer just one question in his post-court interview before insisting this was Nadal's moment.

Rafael Nadal

Of his next steps, Nadal said: "My feeling is, even if I am booked in Wimbledon because I had to, I don't think it's a positive idea for right now. It now looks difficult to make a transition to grass, having the Olympics again on clay."

As for the longer term, he said: "I don't know for how long, but I want to keep going for a while, because I am having fun. Give me two months until the Olympics and then let's see if am able to keep going or I say, 'Okay guys, it's more than enough'.

"I cannot tell you how I will be in one month and a half, because my body has been a jungle for two years. You don't know what to expect. I woke up one day and I found a snake biting me, and another day a tiger.

"I don't know if this is going to be the last time I'm going to be here in front of all of you. If it's the last time, I am in peace with myself."