The image sounded repeated, but it was different. The last time Rafael Nadal had stepped foot in the RCT Barcelona headquarters, which has been named after him since 2017, was in the final of Godó 2021 in which he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas.
His victory, after lifting a match point, allowed him to lift his twelfth trophy in Barcelona. Only at Roland Garros did he win more (14 wins).
After 1,081 days since the last occasion, Nadal stepped onto the sand of his club’s main court again.. This time there were not thousands of fans. Only a group of journalists and members of the centenary club had the opportunity to see him train at a leisurely pace with David Jordá, who last week achieved his first ATP victory and reached the round of 16 in Estoril, on the other side of the network. The final test will be later to find out if he is fit to compete in a tournament that he has missed the last two years due to injury. In 2022 it was a crack in the ribs and in 2023 the iliopsoas in his left leg.
Your team, attentive
Nadal was accompanied in the session by his coaches Carlos Moyá and Gustavo Marcaccio; his physiotherapist, Rafael Maymó; his agent Carlos Costa, and his trusted man at Nike, Jordi Robert ‘Tuts’ . The tennis player has only been able to play this season in the Brisbane Open 500, where he left with a small muscle tear that prevented him from being in the Australian Open.
Nadal and his pain in his psoas: “It’s the same place as last year, but the sensation was different”
Later he was also eliminated from Doha, Indian Wells and Monte Carlo, although this time it was due to some abdominal discomfort that did not allow him to serve, as confirmed by the champion of 22 majors himself last Saturday when he traveled to Seville to follow the final of the Copa del Rey between Athletic Bilbao and Mallorca.
Nadal: “The first objective is to try to compete and I go day by day”
The Manacorí, who preserved his service in the session, has three days to decide his inclusion in the draw that will be drawn this Saturday, April 13 and in which he will not be seeded for the first time since 2003. By not appearing among the 16 favorites, they are obliged to play six games if they reach the final. This inevitably places its debut for Tuesday, April 16.
Guest 16 years old
On that occasion he entered the fray thanks to an invitation from the organization because she was a promising tennis player ranked 96th on the lists at just 16 years old. He won the Costa Rican Juancho Marín in the first round and later lost to Álex Corretja.
Nadal will do everything possible to have one last dance at the Godó, at the Mutua Madrid Open, in Rome, but, above all, on the land of Roland Garros. First, however, it has to look competitive.
2024-04-10 20:42:04
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