Rafael Nadal excited to head Down Under for his title defense at the Australian Open in 2023 after a mixed end to the season
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Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal’s 2022 season has come to an end after he crashed out of the ATP Finals tournament. He lost the first two matches in the Group stage against Taylor Fritz and Felix-Auger Aliassime. He won the third match against Casper Ruud 7-5, 7-5.
The Spaniard will be heading straight back home to prepare well for the first Grand Slam of the season 2023 in Down Under. He will be playing in a few exhibition tournaments in South America to improve his game and to remain at the peak of his physical fitness.
Rafael Nadal has won the Australian Open twice in his career. He is the defending champion. He would love to increase his Grand Slam singles titles tally to 23. The Spaniard weighed in on his chances at 2023 Australian Open while talking to reporters in an interview.
“Australia’s going to be a challenge, of course, but it’s the beginning of the season. Hard court, I played well plenty of times there, even if I only won twice,” he said.
He admitted that he will head to Australia early to get acclimatize to the conditions better.
“Not only because of the preparation for Australia, but because of preparation for myself for the rest of the season,” he admitted.
Continuing his train of thoughts, he further added, “Just excited to going to be there. If nothing goes wrong, I’m going to be there early. That’s what I need. Even if it’s an effort for me and sacrifice to go very early from home, I think that’s what I need to do after what happened the last five months“.
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Can Rafael Nadal win the 2023 Australian Open title?
As Rafael Nadal is the defending champion of the Australian Open men’s singles title, expectations from him would be far greater. He too would love to win the 23rd Grand Slam singles title of his career in Australia. However, it would be quite a challenge for the “King of Clay”.
First, the conditions in Australia are always difficult. The Australian summer test the capability and physical fitness of the players. And Nadal had to deal with fitness issues last year. Hence, his team has to work overtime to get him ready for the matches.
Second, the new young players are ready to claim their legacy. Players such as Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, etc, are looking to win the prestigious tournament. Third, the nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic is back. After missing the Australian Open 2022, he will be itching to start the 2023 season spectacularly by winning the first Grand Slam of the season.
“That’s the best news possible, especially knowing that now the virus is more under control around the world. Happy for him. Happy for the tournament. Happy for the fans. That’s it,” Nadal said when asked about the Serb’s participation at the 2023 Australian Open.
Rafael Nadal is known to defy the odds and win matches. He did that last year and would love to do it next year too. We hope that he will be fit for every match and would play the best tennis he can.
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