Has Rafael Nadal Written Himself off the Grand Slam Race With Novak Djokovic?

With the recent revelations of Rafael Nadal surrounding his comeback, a big question lies in whether will we be able to see his best. The Spaniard hasn’t played for months owing to his hip surgery. Nadal has had a troubled past with this problem but has made a successful comeback every time he’s been out with injuries. His never-say-die attitude is next to none. As a result, questions erupt about whether or not will he be able to keep himself in the race with Novak Djokovic.

The Serb has raced ahead of Nadal this year in the list of the most Grand Slam singles titles won by men. Before the start of the year, Nadal was leading Djokovic by 1, but the latter won 3 major titles in 2023, making it 24 Grand Slam titles for Djokovic. On the other hand, Nadal is stuck at 22 major titles. Let’s find out the prospects of Nadal overcoming Djokovic’s feat.

Can Rafael Nadal overcome Novak Djokovic’s lead?

At 36, time is not with Nadal as he has just a few years left in his tennis career. On the other hand, Djokovic is aging like a fine wine and playing some of the best tennis of his career. This year was one of the most successful ones for him in his illustrious tennis career. As a result, it will be difficult for Nadal to come to terms with Djokovic’s Grand Slam record.

Meanwhile, Nadal himself hasn’t had a positive opinion about his future in the sport. Earlier today, he hinted about his retirement from tennis soon with age not by his side. The Spaniard took to Twitter where he could be seen explaining his situation surrounding his comeback and retirement.

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Nadal revealed, “I expect from myself not to expect anything. This is the truth… And right now what I really hope is to be able to not to do that, not to demand me the maximum, to accept that things are going to be very difficult at the beginning and to give myself the necessary time and forgive myself if things go wrong at the beginning, which is a very big possibility.”

Being one of the legends of the sport, Nadal is often compared to his rivals like Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard himself isn’t expecting to overcome Djokovic’s record of the most Grand Slam titles won. A few days back, he made an honest confession about this race.

Nadal sounds cautious ahead of his comeback

The Spaniard has shared glimpses of his light training sessions in the gym and on the court as he gets ready for the tournaments next year. Nadal’s comeback in Brisbane will mark his first appearance on the tour after nearly 12 months of absence. As a result, his confidence levels have dropped and a harsh reality check has hit him.

While announcing his return from a prolonged break, Nadal also spoke about his chances of winning more Grand Slam titles than Djokovic. Talking about this, he said, “I won’t win more Majors than Djokovic, but I will be back to compete. I hope to tell you more in the coming weeks. Until now, I didn’t know if I would ever play tennis again, and now I sincerely believe that I will play tennis again.”

On the contrary, an interesting point to note is that Nadal has had many successful comebacks in the past. Take for example, the 2022 season. The Spaniard had to miss the latter half of the 2021 season due to a foot injury. Subsequently, he made a comeback early in 2022 and won the Australian Open and the French Open.

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Nadal will duly hope that history repeats itself and he has a successful return in 2024. However, age is also an important factor to note and with Nadal being 36, it is certain that he has slowed down. Thus, getting to be at his absolute best will be a big challenge for Nadal.

All in all, it remains unlikely that Nadal is ever going to race ahead of Djokovic in the Grand Slam race. Djokovic is still giving his best and remains a favorite for next year’s major tournaments. Nonetheless, fans will hope for a battle between Djokovic and Nadal before they call time on their impressive careers.

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