Rafael Nadal receives retirement tips to extend his career from Mats Wilander who predicts the Spaniard can easily play till he’s 40
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Mats Wilander and Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal had a great outing in the 2022 season. While the season was marred with injuries once again, he still managed to win 4 titles from 5 finals this year, including 2 Grand Slam titles. His wins at the Australian and the French Open made him the most successful Grand Slam champion in men’s singles with 22 majors to his name.
Nadal looked on course for his 3rd Wimbledon title but an untimely injury to his abdomen forced him to withdraw on the eve of his semi-final clash. The injury’s after-effects affected his preparation for the US Open as well where he lost in the 4th round battling his injury woes.
With discussions starting on whether he should consider retirement, former World No. 1 and 7-time major winner Mats Wilander had a different theory while speaking with Eurosport. The Swede great believed with Nadal winning two Grand Slams at age 35 and 36, he still has multiple seasons under his belt.
“I would think that after you won your last Grand Slam tournament, there are about three or four years left in you, for sure, especially if you keep your ranking in the top eight. If you have just won the Australian Open and the French Open in 2022, I would say you have three or four more years.
“I don’t care about the fact that Rafa turns 40 in four years. I don’t think it matters because you are going to have in your mind ‘hey, kids, I’ve done this now since I was 17-18 years old’. It is five sets, that is a marathon, but if you sprint, you are going to kill yourself, you are going to get too tired, and if you walk, he will be faster than you.
“I think that keeping his ranking up is going to be very tough. Winning another Grand Slam is going to be easier, much easier, than being in the top three in the world in the rankings because you don’t need that. You can just try to pinpoint your events to pick at the right time. It is the week before the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open and you can find form and feel it,” said Wilander.
Only the injuries holding Rafael Nadal back says Mats Wilander
After winning his first 21 matches of the season, his best start ever, Nadal was the favorite for the 2022 Indian Wells Masters titles against Taylor Fritz. But a rib stress fracture got the better of him as he lost the finals and was forced to start the clay season late. His French Open run had him playing with painkiller injections after his round 1 match.
The injury of Wimbledon also resurfaced briefly prior to the US Open. Despite these struggles, Wilander is assured that Nadal knows which battles to pick and a bit of luck with the injuries can see him continue for an extra season.
“Rafa knows what he is looking for: he knows emotionally what he is looking for; he knows physically what he is looking for. He knows how much he has to train to have any chance of achieving that feeling, both physically and mentally. If his injuries are okay, I think he is going to get there.
“Then you have to win points at 30-30, 4-4 in the fifth set, you have 10 different choices, and only one of them is correct and how to make that decision right is key. There is a lot of luck involved, for sure. I think Rafa is going to need a bit of luck, but he would say he always got a bit of luck. When you win that much, you need a bit of luck, and so I think he is going to be back,” added the Swede great.
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Sarthak Shitole
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