Rafael Nadal has staged countless comebacks in his amazing career fighting all sorts of injuries. This time, the Spaniard has to face something slightly different when tennis is back following the Coronavirus outbreak. There are some new variables that Nadal will need to take into account. Rafa will be (obviously) older than before having turned 34 ,and in the best-case scenario, tennis would be back after at least a 5 months’ hiatus. As the Spaniard commented, it is a bit more difficult for older players to get back into the groove even if they can use their experience. Also, if everything goes well, Nadal may have to defend 4,000 points back to back as last year he won the Internazionali d’Italia, the Roland Garros and the US Open that are meant to be the first 3 major tournaments to take place.
During a recent press-conference on Zoom, Rafa revealed that he is still optimistic because he has finally learned in the last few years how to be quickly competitive without playing too many matches. For this reason, he is confident that with the right preparation, he might be ready as soon as tennis competitions are back.
“In the last couple of years, I think I have learned how to play good tennis without the need to play a lot of matches. I really understand and find a way to be ready to compete at a very high level without being able to play a lot of matches before.
That’s a real thing because I played a small number of tournaments last year compared to the years before, so I think it’s all about making the right preparation.
“I am worried, of course, the world stopped for a while and everybody should be worried. But I am confident that if I have the right time enough to prepare myself and organise, a little bit, my calendar, I really hope that I am going to be competitive from the beginning,” he commented.
Nadal has 19 slams under his belt, just 1 less than Roger Federer. Having a good comeback and winning at least 1 slam when tennis is back, would put him in a strong position to break Roger’s record in the future. The Roland Garros has already been confirmed, and that is good news for the King of Clay.
Rafael Nadal in 2020
Now the world no.2, Rafael played his last match on the 29th of February when he defeated Taylor Fritz 6-3 6-2 in the final in Acapulco to win his 85th career title.
This year Nadal has a 13-3 win-loss record. The Spaniard clinched 1 title in Acapulco.
