The end of the season is just around the corner and therefore it is time to take stock of a season that has been successful for many and frustrating for others. There are other players like Rafael Nadal that we would not know in what situation to put him. In the absence of knowing if he will play in the remainder of the year, the one from Manacor has completed a somewhat strange campaign. The first section was spectacular, with titles in Australia and Roland Garros, among others. But from there, the situation changed. The continuous physical discomfort has dragged on a Nadal that we do not know when he will return. Your uncle Toni Nadal He spoke to the newspaper AS to talk about his nephew’s current affairs and the hottest topics on the circuit.
The one who was Rafael Nadal’s coach during his best years as a professional, valued the withdrawal of Roger Federer in the last Laver Cup 2022, one of the most emotional moments of this season, and it is that the figure of the Swiss will remain forever in the fans of tennis: “I lived that moment with a lot of emotion. A farewell like Roger Federer’s is something painful, even knowing that that moment was getting closer due to the continuous injuries he was having this year. What can we say about “Roger? He has been a reference for everyone during all these years. I would have liked the Swiss to continue playing for another year. Not only because of what it means for tennis in general, but also because of the importance of his figure for the sport. He has been one of the greatest icons in history.”
Despite having won two Grand Slam titles and being very close to number one in the world, Toni Nadal acknowledges that 2022 is being a very hard year for the Spaniard for various reasons: “He is having a quite complicated year due to the continuous physical discomfort that he has been dragging along in recent months. Still, he has had good results in major tournaments such as the Australian Open or Roland Garros, but you always have that thorn of what his season could have been if the injuries had not appeared. At Wimbledon he had to retire in the semi-finals after playing at a great level. At the US Open he was also dealing with some problems.”
After the retirement of Roger Federer, many are those who think that the retirement of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic is getting closer: “I don’t know how much my nephew has left on the circuit. I think he will when he sees that he doesn’t have chances of winning. The time he goes to a tournament knowing he has no chance of winning, that’s when I think he will say he won’t play anymore. He has won too much these years to retire badly. In conclusion, I think Rafa will retire depending clearly on his body, his possibilities and his rivals”.
The fantastic year of Casper Ruud
Even so, the year of the Rafael Nadal Academy has been incredible. Not only because of the Spanish tennis player, but also because of the emergence of Casper Ruud, a tennis player who has played two Grand Slam finals in 2022: “Casper is one of the best tennis players on the circuit. He has been proving it for two years now. He is a player who is already consolidated and the truth is that he can play perfectly on any surface. He has beaten many top ten players and has been able to play two Grand Slam finals. This is not just anyone. It is true that he has lost both “In the first against Nadal he had hardly any options and lost convincingly. With Alcaraz in Flushing Meadows it was different. He had his chances of victory. He is a player who will be fighting for the big titles and perhaps he will also fight for the number one of the world. In addition to being a good tennis player, he is also a fantastic person,” he concluded.
