MELBOURNE (Reuters).- The Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal admitted that he had doubts about whether he would return to the courts one day after missing the second half of 2021 with a foot injury. But now, his reality is different: the 35-year-old tennis playere showed himself in top form by beating Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open, just weeks after rejoining the ATP Tour.
With a victory putting him on the path to his 21st Grand Slam title, Nadal said he is happy to be back competing after the dark days of last year. ”I had many doubts about whether or not I would play the tournament. Not only the Australian Open, but whether he was going to return to the circuit due to the continuous discomfort he had in his foot, ”said the Manacorí, who missed Wimbledon last year, the Tokyo Olympics and the United States Open. In the fourth round, Nadal, 35, will face Frenchman Adrian Mannarino (69th), executioner of Russian Aslan Karatsev (15th).
“Today there are still doubts. As I said the other day, it is an injury that we cannot heal, so we have to find a way to control the pain in order to play (…) That is the goal. Little by little with the passage of time I will pick up a competitive rhythm”.
With three resounding victories in Melbourne, following his title at an ATP warm-up event in the same city, the 2009 Australian Open champion appears to be playing with freedom, having come a long way from the days when he even beat a training session was quite a feat.” A month ago my goal was to train for more than half an hour. I have reached a good level of tennis”, he said after his victory.
In addition, he praised Khachanov: “It was my best game in every way, against the most difficult opponent. An important rival, with great experience on the circuit and with many good games. I have managed to play at a good level. I am not going to throw any bell on the fly but it is to be satisfied, “
