• Nadal "Don't tell anyone ... here I am"

The last time

Rafael Nadal

played doubles on the ATP circuit was in March 2017, at the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells. Then he did, just over two years ago, in the Laver Cup and in the Davis Cup Finals. The winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, already through the coronavirus he contracted during the Abu Dhabi exhibition, will not only contest the Melbourne ATP 250 in the individual draw, but, determined to acquire competitive rhythm as soon as possible, is also enrolled in the doubles, along with another Majorcan,

Jaume Munar

.

The unfortunate news of being touched by the pandemic in its unofficial reappearance created the logical doubts regarding its immediate future, but, once the mandatory quarantine was fulfilled at home, it decided to respect the planned plans.

Don't tell anyone.

I'm here, "the Spaniard tweeted on the 31st, with an image posing smiling in the central Melbourne Park.

Seed number 1 and exempt from the start, Nadal will have as his first opponent the American

Marcos Girón

, 66th, or a player from the previous phase in which it will be his full-fledged return to the courts after falling in the second round of the ATP 500 from Washington against South African

Lloyd Harris

, on August 7.

His prolonged absence from the courts was caused by Muller Weiss syndrome, a chronic foot ailment that reappeared in the Roland Garros semi-finals against

Novak Djokovic

.

In the Abu Dhabi gig he lost to

Andy Murray

on December 17 and fell a day later to

Denis Shapovalov

.

The marker, in these cases, was irrelevant.

It was about seeing how he evolved from his injury, which was intervened in Barcelona on September 11, without details of the treatment having been disclosed.

The response was good and, in this second post-Covid reincorporation, the trainings, according to Australian media, are of remarkable intensity.

Nole's vaccination

While Djokovic dropped out of the ATP Cup in Sydney and has yet to confirm his presence at the Australian Open, reluctant to meet vaccination requirements, Nadal sharpens the racket for the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, where He won his only title in 2009. The Serbian, world number 1 and nine times champion of the tournament, would start as the top favorite to win the cup and thus reach his twenty-first major, with which he would break the equality he maintains with Nadal and Federer, but , two weeks after the start, his participation is still unknown. Those responsible for the Australian Open are negotiating with the authorities of the state of Victoria that he be granted a medical exemption so that he can play without being vaccinated.

Although this year it is important that it be shot in advance, Nadal has not always needed a previous official tournament to face one of the priority objectives of each season. In 2012, he lost to

Stefanos Tsitsipas

in the quarterfinals without having been seen before. In 2020 he fell against

Dominic Thiem

, in the same round, after playing the ATP Cup, and in 2019 he was overwhelmed by Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open, this being his debut tournament.

At 35 years old, and waiting to calibrate his physical condition after the serious mishap that has kept him out of the competition for five months, Nadal is clear about the initial section of his first roadmap and does not want to lose his footing in that race that keeps with Djokovic and

Federer

.

Unfortunately, little can be expected from the Swiss after his failed return last year and a new knee operation.

Nole

, who played his last singles and doubles matches against Croatia in Madrid, in the Davis Cup, thus remains his only opponent in the passionate dispute.

It will be necessary to see how both will resist the push of those who come, already explained by

Daniil Medvedev

at the US Open.

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Know more

  • sports

  • tennis

  • Rafael Nadal

  • Novak Djokovic

  • Davis cup

  • Roland Garros

  • US Open

  • Australian Open

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Davis Cup Serbia does not reach Djokovic and falls in the semifinals against Croatia

TennisNadal tests himself against Murray after more than four months out

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