Mayor of Manacor requests meeting with Rafael Nadal to get approval for his statue

The Mayor of Manacor, Miguel Oliver has requested a meeting with Rafael Nadal to get an approval for his statue. The decision to instill a Rafael Nadal statue in his hometown was made after the Spaniard’s historic Australian Open title last year. He defeated Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling five-set encounter, making a comeback from two sets down.

“Manacor City Council will install a sculpture in homage to the greatest Manacor tennis player of all time: Rafael Nadal. This has been decided by the spokespersons of all the municipal groups and the mayor Miquel Oliver, after the tennis player’s last historic victory,” the statement from last year read.

It is believed that the rough sketch of the bronze statue has already been made. It will depict the Spaniard sitting down, and looking ahead at the younger version of himself. The statue will be placed in the Palace Square. The 22-time Grand Slam champion also has a statue at the Roland Garros in Paris.

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When will Rafael Nadal return to the tour?

Rafael Nadal’s season could not have gotten off to worse start, as he was knocked out in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open by Mackenzie McDonald. Not only did his title defence end early, but he also picked up a hip flexor injury during his second round matchup.

Further tests revealed that the Spaniard would be out of action for the next six-to-eight weeks, which means that he will miss several key tournaments in the next couple of months. The 14-time French Open champion could very well only return to the tour once the clay court season commences in April.

Novak Djokovic levelled Rafael Nadal’s tally of 22 Major titles, after he reigned supreme for a 10th time in Melbourne. The stakes for the 2023 French Open have gone even more higher after the Serbian’s recent success. The duo have clashed against each other in each of the last three French Open’s, with Nadal coming out on top on two occasions.

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