Rafa Nadal’s return to the courts is the talk of the circuit before the new season begins. The Spaniard, winner of 22 Grand Slams, He hasn’t played a game since January 18when he lost to the American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-3 and 7-5 in the second round of the Australian Open. In total, more than 340 days will have passed when he sets foot on the court again at the Brisbane tournament.
Now the big unknown remains, which is to see in what state the Spanish tennis player returns after almost an entire year without competing. At the moment the sensations that he seems to have left in the different training sessions he has had are positive. and this was reflected by former player Ivan Ljubicic after receiving the message from Arthur Flis, who served as Nadal’s sparring partner in Kuwait. “He has written to me and told me that he is playing at a very high level. I still expect great things from him,” said Federer’s former coach.
“Rafa told me that it took a while to return, but I felt that he no longer had pain. He will be competitive and will win games, there is no doubt! He does long 3 hour sessions. That’s what you have to do, play as much as possible,” Gasquet explained to L’Equipe, another of the tennis players who has worked on this final stretch of his recovery alongside Nadal.
Despite all the time he hasn’t played a real game, Rafa’s competitiveness is enough so that rivals and admirers do not dare to bet against him, despite his age (he will turn 38 next June) and his physical condition. This is the case of a tennis legend like Boris Becker, who has assured that no money would be played against the Balearic tennis player.
“I would never bet against Rafael Nadal on a tennis court. He is tremendously strong, he has won a lot, he has so much experience… He is one of the best players of all time, and if he believes he has a chance of winning big titles and playing at a high level, then you have to believe him. “I am convinced that he will not go to Australia with the greatest expectations: his objectives must be Roland Garros and the Olympic Games, again on clay,” the German said on Eurosport, a channel with which he collaborates.
Those who do not see Rafa’s return so calmly are his rivals. Knowing what the Spanish tennis player is capable of, many do not hide his unease about facing him again. It is the case of Andrey Rublevwho has spoken about the return of the Manacor player. “I’m happy because he’s back on the slopes, but obviously as a competitor I feel more freedom when he’s not there”points out the Russian tennis player.
For his training sessions in Kuwait, Nadal chose Arthur Flis as his sparring partner. Due to his youth, his explosiveness and his moment of form, the Frenchman is a good thermometer to gauge Nadal’s state. In these first days they have played two sets: Nadal took the first 7-6 and lost the second 6-7. They were two very close duels and they show that Nadal is in a position to beat a player 18 years younger and that he is among the best 40 in the ranking.
Nadal and his entourage want to go little by little in their return, but they have already designed a calendar in which, for example, is the Godó as the tournament itself announced a few days ago. But everything depends on the physique of a tennis player who little by little has been working “like a video game” to go through screens until reaching the final monster: his return to the circuit.
Passionate about basketball since he was a child, Guillermo García has managed to make the sport of basketball his profession. Graduated in Humanities from the Carlos III University and with a Master in Journalism, he began working at Marca in 2003, where he had time to do everything from football to reports and opinion, including the closing section. In 2011 he began as an editor on the official NBA website in Spanish and since then he has covered basketball information with special attention to what is happening in the United States. In addition, he has covered two Eurobasket, two World Cups and two Olympic Games, along with a multitude ACB playoffs, NBA and Euroleague Final Four games. He has also been able to interview figures from other sports such as Usain Bolt, Simone Biles or Armand Duplantis. …
2023-12-20 08:50:47
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