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PARIS, FRANCE June 11. Rafael Nadal of Spain during his match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the semi finals of the singles competition at the 2021 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on June 11th 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
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PARIS, FRANCE June 11. Rafael Nadal of Spain during his match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the semi finals of the singles competition at the 2021 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on June 11th 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
20-time Grand Slam winner, Rafael Nadal is playing really well in this year’s Australian Open. After sustaining a foot injury last year, Nadal hadn’t played a single match since August 2021. Yesterday, the Spaniard said that he feels pretty good with his current level even though he hasn’t played that many matches.
Later, at the press conference, the former no.1 revealed some shocking details about the injury.
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PARIS, FRANCE June 11. Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after hitting a shot into the net during the third set tie break against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the semi finals of the singles competition at the 2021 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on June 11th 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal was doubtful about playing tennis ever again
After the third-round match against Karen Khachanov at the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal talked about the foot injury he sustained last year. The Spaniard thought that he could never play tennis again, as the injury was really severe.
“First of all, everybody around me, me included of course, but everybody around me had a lot of doubts, not (only) about Australian Open, no, but about coming back on the tour because the foot was bothering a lot of days,” Nadal revealed.
“Of course, still today are doubts because the foot… it is an injury we cannot fix the injury, so we need to find a way that the pain is under control to play, to keep playing. That’s the goal,” Nadal further added.
Rafa also talked about not getting enough practice because of the injury and if he wants to recover from the injury, he needs to compete.
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Can Rafa win his 21st Grand Slam title in Australia?
Since returning to the tour in 2021, Rafa has played seven singles matches and his level looks really impressive. In the third round, at the Australian Open, the Spaniard beat Khachanov by 6-3,6-2,3-6,6-1. It was a challenging match for Rafa, but the Russian could not match Rafa’s level on the court.
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Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 21, 2022 Spain’s Rafael Nadal celebrates winning his third round match against Russia’s Karen Khachanov REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Nadal will now face Adrian Mannarino of France in the fourth round. The Frenchman is a tricky opponent for anyone, but with Nadal’s experience, he should fancy his chances of progressing. Nadal has a great chance to lift the Australian Open this time around with Novak Djokovic not playing. His biggest threat will be the top seed Daniil Medvedev, who will be aiming to lift his second Grand Slam title.
Can Nadal win his 21st Grand Slam title in Australia? Let us know in the comments.
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