“I hope to see him raising his head,” Rafael Nadal’s uncle Toni confident of his nephew’s commitment and capacity before the French Open
Rafael Nadal's uncle and former coach wants his nephew to bounce back from injury and defend the title at French Open.
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Rafael Nadal with his uncle and former coach Toni Nadal
In an unexpected manner, Spanish tennis icon Rafael Nadal bowed out of the Australian Open earlier this week. As the scoreline said, the straight-set defeat against the American Mackenzie McDonald was atypical for Nadal. But if we factor in the hip injury that troubled him during the match it does not seem too atypical of Nadal battling injury alongside battling his opponents.
The 36-year-old’s career has been mired with injuries since the beginning. Among his contemporaries, no other top name has been forced to sit out of as many Grand Slams as Nadal had to. The back luck in the 2023 Australian Open was just another chapter of that cruel saga.
After the exit from the season’s first Grand Slam, Nadal received some more heartbreaking news. The diagnosis of his injury will cause him to stay out of the courts for the next six to eight weeks. Though Nadal has enough time to recuperate and get back to his last season’s form before the French Open the picture is still not all rosy for him considering his age.
Nadal’s uncle and his long-time former coach, Toni Nadal is one of the people hoping the best for the champion star despite the relations with his nephew going south in the last few years. Uncle Toni wants to see Nadal rise once again in Roland Garros.
“My hope is now focused on seeing him, once again, raising his head and fighting to be at Roland Garros defending his options,” Toni Nadal said. “Let’s hope that his body responds because of the commitment and the capacity for suffering, I think he will not lack,” he further added.
Related: WATCH: Andy Murray pulls off a brilliant service game with his back against the wall
A tough road ahead for Rafael Nadal following his latest injury
Throughout his career, Rafael Nadal has bounced back from injuries and kept on clinching titles. Now, the legend from Mollarca is inching toward his 37th birthday. And at this age, it is not very easy for the body to respond in the same quick manner as before.
Nadal himself is aware of this fact, and still, he has shown his desire to continue to play as long as his body permits. The question of retirement thrown at him every now and then does not please him. But then, even Nadal knows that he cannot keep playing forever, and sooner or later he will have to go his greatest rival Roger Federer‘s way. The latest injury may just advance the inevitable.
The record 14-time French Open champion will be expecting to add another couple of titles in Paris before eventually bidding goodbye. But for that, he will have to recover totally and hit his vintage form. For now, no one knows what the immediate future holds for him. Just like his Uncle Toni, all the fans can do is wait and hope for another phoenix-like rise of the ‘King of Clay’.
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Abhinavendu Singh
(290 Articles Published)