Tag: Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal Says He Feels Good But Doesn’t Expect Much

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Rafael Nadal is more than content with how he is feeling on the court right now, but he claims it is “impossible” for him to consider winning any events.

Before having to resign from the ATP Tour owing to injury, Rafael Nadal only participated in two matches during the 2023 season, both of which were at the Australian Open almost a year ago.

He expressed fear about his tennis career after that and declared that, should he make it, the current season would be his last.

He admits he shouldn’t be taken seriously as a title candidate just yet, but he has returned to Australia prepared to make his comeback following a year out and hip surgery.

Nadal responded, “I can’t complain,” when questioned about his physical state prior to the upcoming season. “Today I feel so much better than I anticipated.

I can’t even consider the possibility of winning a tournament right now. However, one possibility is to relish the return.

“I plan to go a year without playing on the court, not much more.”

The 2024 Australian Open is going to be much more intriguing thanks to Rafael Nadal, and this is creating quite a stir.

He admits that his level is a little enigmatic, which contributes significantly to it. After all, when Nadal made an attempt to recover from an injury at the end of 2022, his performance fell far short of what was required.

However, we also know that he is capable of amazing feats, such as winning the Australian Open in 2022 despite having a severely damaged foot.

Of course, Nadal’s unpredictable play in the draw adds even more drama to the mix. For the tournament, he is entering via protected ranking, but it merely puts him into the draw. He doesn’t become seeded by it.

As a result, he might play against a top player in the opening round. He will then play in their quarterfinal against one of the top four seeds, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, or Jannik Sinner.

The Roland Garros will then unquestionably be the most significant competition of his season.

Only Nadal can truly know his physical state; no one else can truly know how he truly feels. This will be essential to determining his true standing in 2024.

Boris Becker Talks About Nadal’s Goal In AO

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Boris Becker emphasized in an exclusive interview with Eurosport that he thinks Rafael Nadal might have to “struggle” during the early phases of his recovery from a chronic hip injury.

In anticipation of the first Grand Slam of 2024 at the Australian Open, which will air live on Eurosport and Discovery+, Rafael Nadal will make his Melbourne Park debut for the first time in nearly a year.

Becker thinks the 22-time Grand Slam champion is setting reasonable expectations for the Melbourne tournament and doesn’t think the Spaniard will start to click until the clay-court season begins.

Becker stated to Eurosport Germany’s “Das Gelbe vom Ball” podcast, “I don’t think his expectations for Melbourne are sky-high right now: if he wins a few matches there, good for him.”
After that, he’ll focus on the early clay-court competitions. He will undoubtedly play in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, and possibly even Rome to get back to full fitness for Paris.

His objective must be to win both the Olympics and Roland Garros, which will take place on clay in Paris.

However, he must play first because he can only improve his match fitness and match experience by participating in matches. As a result, he must endure some minor discomfort in order to improve in March and April before being at his best in May.

The German then focused on Novak Djokovic, who, since Nadal’s absence, has eclipsed the Spaniard in the men’s Grand Slam singles record book. Djokovic won his 24th and most recent major at the US Open this year.

At 36, Becker remarked, “You’re not really meant to play tennis like that.”

What is the point at which the guy loses motivation or becomes exhausted?

“Novak is the king of the tennis scene. He defeated [Carlos] Alcaraz in the spectacular Wimbledon final and won three of the four Grand Slams [in 2023].

That game was the best of the year, in my opinion. Respect all the other champions, but Djokovic’s performance against Alcaraz was extraordinary.

In light of this, Becker believes that the younger generation, led by Alcaraz and composed of players like Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner, will be able to exert even more pressure on the Serbian in the upcoming season.

“He’ll be 37 years old in May of next year, and Alcaraz and company will be older and more seasoned,” Becker stated.

“I believe that Djokovic’s continued success and the younger generation’s closer relationship would be the best things that can happen for the tennis scene overall.

To put it another way, I still think Djokovic will win one or more Grand Slams. However, I also think that Alcaraz and company will frequently throw a wrench in things. “I hope that this rivalry between the all-time greatest player and the rest of the tennis world continues for a long time because we amateur players and tennis fans benefit from it,” the man said.

Rafael Nadal Announces Return To Tennis After Being Out For A Year

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In a video, Rafael Nadal declared, “It’s time to return after a year off from competition.” “It’s scheduled for the first week of January in Brisbane. I’ll see you there.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal announced on Friday that he will be competing at the Brisbane International in Australia again in January.

“It’s time to return after a year off from competition,” Rafael Nadal declared in a social media video. “It’s scheduled for the first week of January in Brisbane. I’ll see you there.

The 37-year-old Spaniard hasn’t competed on the circuit since suffering a hip flexor injury after a defeat in the Australian Open’s second round in January of last year.

A little over a week before the French Open got off in May, Rafael Nadal declared he would be missing the competition in which he holds a record 14 titles. He gave no specific date for his comeback.

At the time, Rafael Nadal had stated that he hoped to play in 2024, considering it to be his last season.

“It’s hard to predict how things will work out,” Nadal stated at the time at a press conference, “but I intend to make next year my last one.”

In the end, he underwent arthroscopic surgery in Barcelona in June.

The Spanish left-hander, who is 1-3 this season, has lost seven of his previous nine games dating back to the end of 2022.

With 22 Grand Slam singles victories, Rafael Nadal is second only to Novak Djokovic, who has 24.