Rafael Nadal makes his return to competition this Tuesday on the clay court of Barcelona. The two-time winner (12 times) of the tournament is opposed to the Italian Flavio Cobolli, 21 years old and 62nd in the world, in the first round. Both men will enter the Pista Rafa Nadal (Center Court) no earlier than 4:00 p.m. (local time), but more likely not before 5:00 p.m. or 5:30 p.m., after the conclusion of the previous matches.
Nadal has not played competitively since the ATP 250 in Brisbane last January. He reached the quarter-finals there but re-injured his left hip. A left hip which had already deprived him of the 2023 season. Since January, he had wanted to make his return to Doha (February 19-25), then to Indian Wells (March 6-17) and finally to Monte-Carlo (7 -April 14), each time giving up at the last minute because he didn’t feel ready.
The situation is apparently different this Tuesday in Barcelona. All the lights seem to be green or almost green for the former world No. 1. He spent all last week training hard on the Catalan ocher courts and regained good tennis sensations. Andrey Rublev can attest to this. The Russian played a practice set with the Spaniard on Saturday, losing a scathing 6-1. It remains to be seen whether Nadal is as convincing in competition mode.
2024-04-16 08:48:08
#Nadal #program #p.m #Barcelona
