Rafael Nadal seems ready to be back in competition after taking a long break following the hip injury that prevented him from having a deep run at the Australian Open. The Spanish sensation decided to skip all the tournaments played on hard courts after the Australian summer to focus on the clay-court swing.
Rafa is expected to play in Monte Carlo, where he will challenge the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
GUYS HE IS RUNNING ! pic.twitter.com/6EcCtpS0I4
— mimi🧍🏻♀️| RAFA COMEBACK ERA ⁵⁵⁴ (@rafastefbaes) March 21, 2023
Rafael Nadal in 2023
Ranked no.13, Rafael played his last match on the 18th of January when he surrendered to world no.55 Mackenzie Mcdonald 6-4 6-4 7-5 in the 2nd round of the Australian Open (draw).
Presently, during this year Rafael owns an overall 1-3 match record.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2023
WLLWLWWWWW Now the world no.1, the Spaniard played his last match on the 19th of March when he overcame world no.5 Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-2 in the final in Indian Wells to win his 8th career title.
Currently, during this season the Spaniard has managed to achieve a composed 14-1 win-loss record. The Spaniard has won 2 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires and Indian Wells. The Spaniard got to the final in Rio de Janeiro.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz faced off 3 times. Their head to head is 2-1 for Nadal. Before, the last time they fought against each other, Carlos Alcaraz won 6-2 1-6 6-3 in the quarter in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) in May 2022.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
Novak Djokovic in 2023
LWWWWWWLWW Currently the world no.2, Novak played his last match on the 3rd of March when he capitulated to world no.5 Daniil Medvedev 6-4 6-4 in the semifinal in Dubai (draw).
Presently, during this year the Serbian has a 15-1 match record. Djokovic has won 2 titles in 2023 in Adelaide and Australian Open.
Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2023
Now the world no.3 (career-high), the Greek played his last match on the 10th of March when he lost to world no.83 Jordan Thompson 7-6(0) 4-6 7-6(5) in the 2nd round in Indian Wells (draw).
During this season the Greek has a 13-3 match record. Stefanos Tsitsipas’s most significant result of the current year was getting to the final at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas played each other 13 times. The head to head is 11-2 for Djokovic. Previously, the last time they locked horns, Novak Djokovic won 6-3 7-6(4) 7-6(5) in the final in Melbourne (Australian Open) on the 29th of January 2023.
Here the video highlights.
