Rafa Nadal felt like a tennis player again last Sunday and enjoyed the sport he loves, despite losing in the doubles draw in Brisbane with one of his coaches, Marc López, a couple with whom he was Olympic champion in Rio 2016, against the Australians Purcell and Thompson. Although the least important thing was the result (double 6-4). The important thing for the Spaniard was to regain the feeling of competing on a court before facing his first singles match, almost a year after the last one he played, in the second round of the Australian Open, against the American Mackenzie McDonald. Overcome with dedication and faith a double operation on the left iliac psoas and hip, at 37 years old, Rafa faces this Tuesday (09:30, M+) an old acquaintance and at the same time a friend of his, the former world number three Dominic Thiem.
The 30-year-old Austrian and now 98th in the ranking, a shadow of the former US Open champion in 2020, due to an injury to his right wrist that caused him a persistent loss of confidence, power and effectiveness in his drive stroke, will be However, an interesting touchstone to gauge Nadal’s initial state of form. At the ATP 250 in the capital of the Aussie region of Queensland, there will be the 16th chapter of a rivalry that produced great matches, including two Roland Garros finals (2018 and 2019), both ending with victory for the Balearic Islands, which also separated Thiem from the title in Barcelona and Madrid in 2017, and dominates head-to-head 9-6.
Things are not going so well now for good old Dominic, who tries, without success, to emulate the excellent level with which he managed himself in those times. In the previous round, he had to come back against two rivals whom he would have destroyed in other circumstances, the local McCabe (272nd), who had three match points in the second set, and the Italian Zappieri (135th). His greatest success in the last three years was the Kitzbuhel final, lost against the Argentine Báez.
However, Nadal’s long inactivity (672nd) means that the forces are, a priori, equal, although just a few days ago the champion of 22 Grand Slams won the set they played during a training session in Brisbane.
Notice for mariners
“I don’t have the expectations I had in the past. I had surgery and I haven’t had much time to reach a decent level,” Rafa said on the tournament’s media day, just before playing that doubles match with his colleague Marc López. The fact is that Nadal was seen happy, smiling, accepting the things he couldn’t do well, mobility and volleys, and enjoying the positive ones, such as the routines and ball hitting that some of his training partners praise. , such as Fils, Gasquet, Rune, Munar and Murray. “The sessions with him are always very, very intense. I saw him doing well physically, playing well,” said the Briton, defeated yesterday by Dimitrov in the first round.
Siren songs that do not distract the manacorí from its priority objective. “What they say doesn’t have much value, because if I were in their position I wouldn’t say bad things about another tennis player either. I don’t care about winning the most important tournaments, but about being happy, feeling like I can get on the court and play against anyone. I don’t care if I win or lose, if I get that feeling… This Tuesday he faces the first test alone, the first step of an uncertain, laborious and, hopefully, long path.
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2024-01-01 19:52:45
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