According to Carlos Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Rafael Nadal is going to recover from his injury and return to the top of the game. In 2023, Nadal participated in just four games, all of which were in January, before a hip injury ended his season and cast doubt on his future.
Though he has been cautious in trying to manage expectations about whether he will reach his previous level again, Nadal has confirmed that he is now certain he will be back on the court next season. Fears that he would be forced to retire have since faded.
Ferrero further believes that Rafael Nadal’s renowned warrior mentality has the ability to drive him back to the top. He expressed his thoughts during a conversation and said: “He will surely return wanting to compete because he has a competitive animal inside him. I see it as logical that he does not see himself competing with Djokovic or against the best right now because he has been out of competition for a long time and it is always difficult to get started.”
He added: “But once he is on track, his mentality of competing at his best will not change. In the 2022 Australian Open, he won against Daniil Medvedev. It was thought that he had fewer chances, but he won. Those who are very, very good always come up with something different from the others and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them at the highest level again. How long? Whatever it gives him physically, I don’t think he’ll be satisfied with winning two games.”
As he always does when he is recovering from an injury, Rafael Nadal is keeping his cards close to his chest. Lack of time are thought to be damaging to that objective because he has always been hesitant to return before fully regaining confidence in his body.
Juan Carlos Ferrero feels Rafael Nadal should not see himself competing with Novak Djokovic 😮
Do you agree? 🤔#RafaelNadal #NovakDjokovic #JuanCarlosFerrero #Tennis pic.twitter.com/gkmFCb5JXV
— Sportskeeda Tennis (@SK__Tennis) November 18, 2023
Rafael Nadal in 2023
Now the world no.662, Nadal played his last match on the 18th of January when he was overcome by world no.41 Mackenzie Mcdonald 6-4 6-4 7-5 in the 2nd round of the Australian Open (draw).
Currently, during this season the Spaniard owns a 1-3 match record.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2023
WLWLLWLWWW Currently the world no.2, Carlos played his last match on the 18th of November when he capitulated to world no.1 Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-2 in the semifinal in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).
This season the Spaniard has managed to achieve a 65-12 match record. The Spaniard conquered 6 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, London and Wimbledon. The Spaniard was the finalist in Rio de Janeiro and Cincinnati.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz squared off 3 times. Their record is 2-1 for Nadal. The last time they competed 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.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz |
| Embed from Getty Images |
