He lost the two games he played and left some doubts about his future, but the good news is that Rafael Nadal was physically well on his return to tennis after four months and, although he lacks rhythm, he will face the Australian tour that he will give healthy start of the 2022 season.
In the Abu Dhabi exhibition tournament where on Friday he had debuted with a loss in straight sets with Andy Murray, Nadal fell again but this time in three sets with a much younger player like Denis Shapovalov, 22 years old and 14th in the ranking. of ATP.
This Saturday, the Mallorcan went from highest to lowest in a game that lasted for two hours and in which, in the end, he chose not to force his left foot, the one that made him stop and put the racket aside for four months .
“About four hours on the track, plus the long training session with Rublev, in three days. Let’s keep trying to find what I’m looking for,” said the Spaniard after losing 6-7 (4), 6-3 and 10-6. In addition, Rafa remarked that perhaps they were two “very difficult” encounters for his return.
Denis Shapovalov’s joy after beating Nadal. Photo Giuseppe CACACE / AFP
“They were two good games. I enjoyed it, I played against great rivals,” he valued after a game for third and fourth place in an exhibition in which both tennis players showed a variety of strokes and long rallies but which favored Shapovalov, who made money from his volleys on the net.
Nadal did not start well and lost the first game with his serve. Later he grew little by little, but the direct play of the Canadian and, above all, his effectiveness in his turn of service made the Spanish champion not feel comfortable on the court.
The speed of the surface on which the 13th edition of the Mubadala Tennis World Championship is played also did not help a Nadal who was in search of good feelings on his return to tennis four months later.
With more shadows than lights, Nadal clung to the game until at the end he managed to equalize and access the tie-break in which he won 7-4, against a Shapovalov who did not give up his way of playing.
In the second set, the Mallorcan tried to extend the points to the maximum which, together with the fatigue of the future of the crash in time, seemed to reduce the effectiveness of the Canadian’s direct shots and that the sleeve ran with the maximum of equality, with both players earning their services.
In the eighth game, however, Shapovalov managed to break Nadal’s serve and get 5-3 on the scoreboard and then win the set 6-3.
In the super ‘tie break’, at 10 points, with which the match was resolved, the Canadian player scored the victory 10-6 after 2 hours of play.
Shapovalov leveled his face-to-face with the Spaniard who now remains 3-2 for Nadal, after their last meeting was in the third round of this year’s Masters 1000 in Rome with a 6-3, 4 victory for the Spaniard. -6 and 7-6 (3).
After Abu Dhabi, where he won in 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2019, Nadal will attend the Melbourne tournament, from January 3-9, to later face the Australian Open, from the 17th to the 30th.
With information from EFE
.
