“It’s the most difficult because he is older,” Rafael Nadal’s comeback performance gets a refreshingly honest reaction from Uncle Toni

Uncle Toni throws some light on Rafael Nadal's comeback and his chances in the upcoming Australian Open.

“It’s the most difficult because he is older,” Rafael Nadal’s comeback performance gets a refreshingly honest reaction from Uncle Toni

Toni Nadal with Rafael Nadal (Credits: Marca)

Toni Nadal, the earliest and long-time coach of the 22-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal, has revealed his thoughts about what he feels about the former World No.1’s return to the sport given his excellent run at the recent Brisbane International.

The Spanish coach talked about how he waiting to see how the ‘King of Clay‘ performed against better and higher-ranked players in the tennis circuit. He said that he would get a clear picture only after his nephew started facing some serious challenges on the tennis court. Rafael Nadal’s uncle further commented on this discussion and stated, 

Rafa can be very happy because the level he is showing is good enough. It's an exciting start, but you have to see him in more difficult matches. At the moment, things are going almost better than we expected.
Toni Nadal via Marca

His former coach also talked about the 14-time French Open champion’s chances at this year’s Australian Open scheduled to start from mid-January. Toni expects Rafa to have a good run at Melbourne, subject to the difficulty of the draw. As Rafael Nadal is currently making a solid and successful comeback to tennis reaching the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International at Perth, he will look to perform well in what might be his last season tour.

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Talking about the former World No.1’s chances at the Australian Open, his uncle further added, 

I think he does have options [to do well at the Australian Open].If Rafael manages to play a few more matches, if in Brisbane he plays with higher ranked players, and in the Australian Open he has a good draw, which is fundamental because he is not a seed, it is possible that he will have a good tournament in the Open.

Rafael Nadal will play his farewell tour in the 2024 season

As the Spanish legendary tennis player makes his comeback to the sport after being absent for almost a year, he is looking forward to competing at the highest level for one last time in his career to bid a proper goodbye to the sport.

Rafael Nadal and Toni Nadal
Toni and Rafael Nadal (Credits: Screengrab/YouTube)

Addressing his comeback situation, his uncle and former coach stated, 

Rafa has always had the ability of playing well very quickly. Sometimes, after many injuries, he has returned even better than he had done before. This time it's the most difficult because he is older and it's more difficult. Let's see if he can continue at this level.

The Spaniard has also mentioned how winning a Grand Slam is not his sole priority this season as he is aware of how big a challenge this will be given his age. However, he has shown some excitement by expressing his desire to be able to represent Spain in the 2024 Paris Olympics alongside fellow countryman and tennis player Carlos Alcaraz.

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