By Harald Ottawa
14.04.2024
The Spanish superstar opens his final clay court season in Barcelona. He still has two dreams. Tsitsipas won in Monte Carlo.
The curiosity was huge when Rafael Nadal stepped onto the court that has long since borne his name. Everything worked out. But will everything work out in the next few days?
For a long time there was uncertainty as to whether the 37-year-old Spaniard would enchant his fans again. Fans that the 22-time Grand Slam winner has everywhere, but in Barcelona the crowd is even bigger.
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And it looks good that the hero will be able to win the 500cc event, which he has won twelve times (of course he is the record winner there too). Opening game this week against Flavio Cobolli will compete. In this case you don’t have to look at the world rankings; while the Italian is ranked around 60, you have to browse for a long time to find Nadal before you find him at rank around 650.
Tough year for Nadal
Almost logical: only one result is recorded recently, when he cleaned in Brisbane in January Austria’s Dominic Thiem and the Australian Jason Kubler before losing to Jordan Thompson and then having to sit out again due to a thigh injury.
The body was always his greatest asset. And that was precisely what let him down more and more; last year, for example, the season had already ended in January.
Problems with the hip flexor, which made surgery unavoidable, prevented a speedy return. He has repeatedly announced a comeback, including this year – most recently at Masters tournament in Monte Carlowhere yesterday the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas after a 6:1-6:4 final victory over Norwegian Casper Ruud triumphed.
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And again and again the rejection came with the words: “My body doesn’t allow me to start yet.” Knee problems, wrist injuries or foot problems (Müller-Weiss syndrome has been tormenting him for 20 years) – his battered body, to which he owes so much , would be a very suitable visual aid for medical students.
On the home stretch of his career
Now he is returning. Without making any claims to the title for now. The priority is to test his reserves after the long absence. If it works, Nadal will be on the home stretch of his career attacking the last major titles: the Olympics and of course the French Open (starting at the end of May). Both in Paris.
Incidentally, Nadal played his last official clay court match there on June 5, 2022. He humiliated Ruud 6:3, 6:3, 6:0 and won for the 14th time in Paris. Now he wants to prove who he once was and can still be: the king on sand.
2024-04-14 15:37:00
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