“Have an Old Body”: Rafael Nadal Reveals What Took Him So Long to Return After Australian Open Exit
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via Getty
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – SEPTEMBER 21: Rafael Nadal of Team Europe plays a forehand in his singles match against Milos Raonic of Team World during Day Two of the Laver Cup 2019 at Palexpo on September 21, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Laver Cup will see six players from the rest of the World competing against their counterparts from Europe. Team World is captained by John McEnroe and Team Europe is captained by Bjorn Borg. The tournament runs from September 20-22. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup)
World No.2 Rafael Nadal crushed Grigor Dimitrov to earn the ticket of the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters for the 16th consecutive year. He dominated the entire match and comfortably battled past the Bulgarian player. The final scoreline of the match was 6-1, 6-1.
Rafael Nadal took quite a long break before returning to the court. He last played at the Australian Open 2021 in February and then came back ahead of the clay-court season. In a recent interview, Rafa explained why he took such a long break from the sport.
“Well, I had to stop for a while,” began Nadal. “After Australia, I had my problem on the back. So, I need some time to recover. But, I never stopped going to my gym every day, doing my works.”
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“I did what I had to do.”
With tough conditions and a struggling opponent, @RafaelNadal was able to close out a quick and painless win to improve his record to 73-5 at the #RolexMCMasters. 🙌@PrakashAmritraj pic.twitter.com/YvF6AhNy55
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) April 15, 2021
Rafa clearly told in the interview that he was having a back injury and needed some time to heal it. He also mentioned that even though he was suffering from an injury, he never stopped his training and went to the gym on regular basis.
“Super tough to put back the body at the right shape“- Rafael Nadal
Rafa sarcastically took a jibe at himself and said that he has an old body that needs some rest. He even highlighted that it is super tough for him to maintain his body in the right shape, especially when he is in his mid-thirties now.
via Getty
MONTE-CARLO, MONACO – APRIL 19: Rafael Nadal of Spain plays a forehand against Guido Pella of Argentina in their quarter-final match during day six of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters at Monte-Carlo Country Club on April 19, 2019, in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
“I have an old body. I can’t stop for such a long time. It’s super tough to put back the body at the right shape… It is just nonstop working every day little bit in the gym,” added the 20-time Grand Slam champion.
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Rafael Nadal will play Andrey Rublev next in the quarters of the Monte Carlo Masters 2021. He right now has a 74-5 win-loss record at the tournament. Will Rafa be able to conquer Monte Carlo for the 12th time this year.
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