Rafael Nadal’s Inspiring Journey: From Rivalry to Friendship with Federer, Injury Setbacks, and Dreams for the Future

“He’s a good person, with all his faults. But he’s much better than he might look,” added Nadal: “Novak sometimes chops up his racket, but on the next point he’s there again 100 percent.”

Regarding his competition and friendship with Federer, the 37-year-old also said: “We spent most of our careers together. I came onto the tour very young and he was in his prime. We helped each other a lot after that.”

He learned a lot from both the Swiss and Djokovic. Nadal: “We all had the feeling that we couldn’t fail. And we always had a clear path in mind on how we could improve.”

Rafael Nadal dreams of the French Open and the Olympics

But one thing is certain for the Spaniard: “My main goal is to get into the clay court season as well as possible. I hope that I can be there in Indian Wells. It’s probably the last time I’ll play there. It is a very special tournament for me.” The Masters in Indian Wells starts on March 6th.

He also really wants to play the French Open (from May 26th exclusively on Eurosport), which Nadal has won 14 times. In addition, the Olympics in Paris (July 26th to August 11th, 2024 live on Eurosport) are still a goal.

When asked whether he also dreams of big titles, the Spaniard remained realistic after his long injury break: “I am well aware of the difficulties. We are in a situation in which it is complicated for me to talk about comebacks or big victories to think about.”

After almost a year of compulsory break, Nadal returned to the tour at the beginning of the year at the tournament in Brisbane. However, another injury slowed the 37-year-old down again.

However, Nadal doesn’t know whether this season will be his last: “I haven’t decided 100% yet whether this will be the last year. It looks like it, but I can’t confirm it.” There is still a small glimmer of hope for the fans of the 22-time Grand Slam winner…

Successful start in Rotterdam: Sinner dispatches local hero

2024-02-15 09:49:00
#Rafael #Nadal #loses #race #GOAT #status #Novak #Djokovic #Hes #history