“He must have ambitions deep down on his return,” Rafael Nadal’s mental strength praised by Alize Lim following their interaction 

Rafael Nadal announced his comeback a few weeks back.

“He must have ambitions deep down on his return,” Rafael Nadal’s mental strength praised by Alize Lim following their interaction 

L-R: Rafael Nadal, Alize Lim (Images via Indian Express, Tennis World USA)

22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal is all set to make a comeback to the tour. The 37-year-old is returning to action after almost a year, having last played at the 2023 Australian Open. Despite injuries pegging him down constantly, Nadal is not ready to give up yet and this trait from the 37-year-old has impressed Alize Lim, who has heaped massive praise on the Spaniard.

The French tennis player, who now works with Eurosport, has heaped praise on Nadal for his mentality. Lim has revealed that Nadal is never too ambitious, but he surely has short-term goals and hence claims that the Spaniard must have ambitions for his comeback.

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Lim feels Rafael Nadal believes in living in the moment and does not think too much about the future. She then claimed that although the Spaniard has not set a goal for himself in the 2024 season, he surely has an ambition.

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He's someone who lives in the moment, in the here and now, and that's his strength. I think he must have ambitions deep down on his return. I get the impression that it's not him now who's talking like that…he's shown me in the discussion, and that's what I deeply felt, that's what the Rafa mentality was all along, that's how Rafa worked.
Alize Lim said via Eurosport.

Rafael Nadal values each of his Grand Slam titles equally

Alize Lime delved deep into how Nadal thinks about Grand Slam titles and what is his approach. The Frenchwoman claimed that Nadal values each of his Grand Slam titles won so far equally. She also claimed that Nadal is equally amazed at every Grand Slam title he wins.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Image via NBC News)

Lim revealed that Nadal never thought about winning a Grand Slam title when he picked up the racket. She claims that Nadal prefers to work on his short-term goals rather than setting a distant goal. Lim revealed a conversation between the two when she met the Spaniard in Vienna. During the conversation, Nadal talked about not hoping to win a Grand Slam title. 

When I was a kid, I never said to myself 'I want to win a Grand Slam, I want to win Grand Slams, I want to be the best'. I was thinking about the tournament the next week. And when I won my first Grand Slam, I thought it was going to be the only one I'd win. And then, every time, I won a Grand Slam. I was amazed, I thought, now I can really relax.
Rafael Nadal talked about his Grand Slam title ambitions. (via Eurosport)

Notably, Rafael Nadal won his maiden Grand Slam title in 2005 in his home slam- French Open. The Spaniard beat Mariano Puerto in four sets to lift the elusive trophy. From there onwards, the Spanish ace kept on winning Grand Slam titles and now he stands second on the list of most Grand Slam titles, with 22 of them to his credit.

Nadal was leading the chart till the end of the 2022 season. However, failing to play the 2023 season and Novak Djokovic being in sublime form meant he now trails by two Grand Slam titles. Nevertheless, now that Nadal is back, he would hope to take the lead and end his career on a high.

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