“Not a chance in the world?” Pam Shriver expects a ‘magical’ run from Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in pursuit of a calendar slam
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Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal has had a dream season so far. Coming back from an injury, he started the year by winning the Melbourne Summer Set and then backed it up by winning the Australian Open by beating Daniil Medvedev in an epic 5-set final. He then won another title in Acapulco before eventually getting injured at Indian Wells.
He took around a month to recover from a hairline rib fracture but his injury woes continued. His chronic foot condition kicked in around the French Open and he had to compete despite not being at his 100%. He went on to play with a numbed foot and won the tournament against all the odds. This was the first time in his career that Nadal won the first two majors of the year and now has a chance to complete the calendar slam.
He was unsure about his participation at Wimbledon but his foot treatment went well and he will enter Wimbledon as the No.2 seed. 22-time grand slam doubles champion Pam Shriver recently spoke about Nadal’s chances of completing a calendar slam to PickWise. She said that a year ago, she’d have said that Rafa has no chance to complete a calendar slam but now, after a healthy foot, he looks better than ever.
‘He doesn’t start as my favorite to win Wimbledon’: Pam Shriver on Rafael Nadal’s chances
She clarified that she doesn’t consider Rafa as the favorite to win Wimbledon but she would definitely keep him in the top 2/3. She added that he could really go into the US Open with a chance to complete the calendar slam like Novak Djokovic last year.
“12 months ago, I would have said ‘not a chance in the world’, but now he’s two legs up, had the foot procedure after the French Open and he’s looking good. He doesn’t start as my favorite to win Wimbledon, but he’s in my top two or three picks. It’s possible that he can go into the US Open like Djokovic last year and already be three legs up,” Shriver said.
She then talked about Nadal’s previous two major triumphs earlier this year and called them two of his greatest accomplishments. “It’s a really intriguing part of this year’s Wimbledon, if he can get through the semis and into the final, the excitement will really build. What he’s shown us by winning Grand Slams 21 (in Australia) and 22 (in France) and everything he told us afterward about the foot, I think were his two greatest accomplishments at this stage of his career. It could be one of those magical runs,” she said.
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Lakshya Chopra
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