Rafael Nadal is Back Sooner than Expected

Earlier this month, Spain’s Rafael Nadal was forced to withdraw from the Indian Wells semifinal. The 32-year old was expected to face arch-rival Roger Federer for a chance in the final. However, in the 11th hour, he made the announcement and Federer got a free pass into the final. As it turned out, it was yet another knee issue that held him back, as a result, he had to skip Miami Open 2019.

But now, to the delight of his fans, he seems to have returned to the Rafa Nadal Academy to train. In the tweet below, he can be seen playing at the academy, to be more specific, on the clay courts.

The Spaniard has confirmed that he will be returning in Monte Carlo, to begin on April 13th. He revealed, “What I’m going to do is go back home and try do a smooth transition to clay. I’ll try to be at my 100 per-cent for the first event, which is going to be Monte Carlo for me.”

“I know how it is and I know what I have to do. It’s still tough. Being honest I don’t have doubts today that I will be ready for Monte Carlo.”

“But at the same time, I need to check with my people what’s the best way to proceed now.

“It is a situation we were not expecting at this point so we need to adjust a little bit all of the calendar. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to play on the hard courts [ever again].

To make matters even better, the Monte Carlo organisers even confirmed his name on their provisional entry list. Even Novak Djokovic is expected to make an appearance, but surprisingly, Federer’s name was absent. Nadal’s path to the Monte Carlo title will not be easy as his path will likely be littered with names like Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem.