Rafael Nadal has looked unstoppable this season. Barring his Indian Wells final defeat against Taylor Fritz, the Spaniard has won all his matches this year. Moreover, in the process, he claimed a hattrick of titles, winning at the Melbourne Summer Set, the Australian Open, and in Acapulco.

Chiefly, at the Australian Open, the 35-year-old became the first man to lift 21 Grand Slam singles titles, edging past his long-time rivals, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. It was a tremendous display by Nadal at the opening Grand Slam of the season. Further, in the summit clash against Daniil Medvedev, he overcame a two-set deficit to prevail over the reigning US Open champion.

Recently, a video surfaced wherein a young fan got a chance to meet and play against the Spanish legend.

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Rafael Nadal invites a young fan to play against him

Recently, the 21-time Grand Slam champion was in Indian Wells to participate at the BNP Paribas Open. While Nadal was practicing at a private club in Indian Wells during the tournament, Bella, a 10-year-old fan of Nadal was attending his practice session. Further, she got a chance to play a couple of balls against him.

The 10-year-old looked like a star in the making, having every answer to Nadal’s returns. She looked equally good on her forehand wing as well as the backhand wing. Although Nadal made her chase from corner to corner, she hardly gave up. Indeed, she took a leaf out of the Spaniard’s book!

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Further, getting into an attacking position, it was Bella’s turn to make Nadal run. She blasted a forehand, which forced Nadal’s return into the net. The 10-year-old was struck in disbelief with her performance.

Nadal to miss four to six weeks

Although Nadal has made a stupendous start this season, he suffered a major blow recently. A stress fracture in his ribs has ruled him out for four to six weeks. Talking about his injury, Nadal said, “I had pain. Honestly, it’s tough to, as I said, I have problems to breathe because I don’t know if it’s something on the rib. I am not sure yet, but when I am breathing and when I am moving, it’s like a needle all the time inside here. I get dizzy little bit because it’s painful.”

The latest setback will in all probability rule him out of the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open. However, he’ll hope to get back fit in time for the Madrid Masters in May.

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It remains to be seen how Rafael Nadal cops up with his latest injury to make a comeback on his favorite surface later this spring.