The world of tennis is expectant these days before the imminent return of Rafa Nadal to the courts. After almost an entire year without playing due to an injury, Rafael Nadal will make his official return to the circuit in the first week of January in Brisbane. And there are many questions surrounding the return of the 22-time Grand Slam winner and former world number 1.
It has been more than 340 days out of the circuit (he fell in the second round of the Australian Open against the American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-3 and 7-5) and doubts about his physical condition and whether he will be able to return to the best level continue to be the talk of the circuit. However, the images of the manacorí training have cleared up many unknowns.
And more after the words of Ivan Ljubicic. The Croatian, against whom Rafa won his first title at the Madrid Masters in 2005 (3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and 7-6) and who later coached Roger Federer, has conceded an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport and in it he spoke as a coach of the French Federation about the feedback he has received about the true state of the Spaniard.
“Nadal’s return will not be a presence of old glory. Fils, the French tennis player I follow for the Federation, has trained with him this week 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 Nadal.”said the Croatian, winner of 10 ATP titles.
After several weeks exercising in Manacor, getting back into shape after three months unemployed, Nadal headed to Kuwait last week to try to acclimatize his body to the hot conditions he will encounter in Brisbane and Melbourne. in January, during the Australian summer. He did so after announcing that Brisbane (from December 31 to January 7) will be his first tournament after a blank year due to that psoas injury he suffered precisely at the 2023 Australian Open.
For his training in Kuwait, Nadal chose Arthur Flis as ‘sparring’. 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 it shows that Nadal is in a position to beat a player 18 years younger. and that is among the best 40 in the ranking. A good sign, which is now endorsed by Ljubicic’s words.
Nadal has stayed in Kuwait this week and will then return to Manacor to spend Christmas with his family and pack his bags, because in the last days of December he will head to Brisbane. Although the tournament officially begins on December 31, the former number one is not expected to debut until January 1 or 2.
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. …
2023-12-16 08:46:27
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