“I’m older now,” Rafael Nadal discusses the reason behind skipping Queen’s Club after his much-awaited return on grass after 3 years


“I’m older now,” Rafael Nadal discusses the reason behind skipping Queen’s Club after his much-awaited return on grass after 3 years

Rafael Nadal

22-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal will mark his professional return to grass after a long 3-year wait. He last played on grass at Wimbledon 2019 where he lost to Roger Federer in the semifinals. The 2022 season has particularly been great for Nadal. For the first time ever in his career, he has won the first two majors of the year- The Australian Open and the French Open and has the opportunity to gun for the elusive calendar slam.

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Nadal didn’t play any tune-up tournaments ahead of Wimbledon. He just played an exhibition match a day ago against Stan Wawrinka at the Hurlingham Classic where he defeated the Swiss in straight sets 6-2,6-3. This was his first full-fledged match on grass in three years. After the match, Nadal spoke about how he used to play at Queen’s earlier almost every year but his current age doesn’t allow him to play every tournament.

“Honestly for me, it’s positive to play a few matches before the start of the competition at Wimbledon. I was playing at Queen’s a long time ago now. I’m older now – I can’t play so many games,” Nadal said.

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Rafael Nadal aiming for his third Wimbledon title

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal

Nadal has previously won Wimbledon two times- 2008 and 2010. But he hasn’t tasted success on the center court in over a decade and it might be the perfect opportunity for him to win his third Wimbledon title this season. His foot looks better and he is currently 14-0 in grand slams in 2022. He will enter the tournament as the second seed which means that he will avoid Novak Djokovic until the final and will have enough match practice before he faces his arch-nemesis.

Having said that, Nadal will need a good draw so he needs to spend time on grass especially given the fact that he’ll be playing at Wimbledon after almost 3 years. With a good draw and at 100% fitness, Nadal will be a serious contender to go all the way this year

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