Top French coach says Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are blocking the path of success for the next generation of players
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Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal, the current World No 2 continued to claim his dominance at the Grand Slam tournaments of the year. His match-winning streak ended with his elimination at the US Open. He had managed to win two out of the four major events. He became the player in the Open era with the maximum number of titles with his tally of 22.
Novak Djokovic, the former world number one has had a rough year of being unable to participate in the Grand Slam tournaments due to his unvaccinated stance. Despite having long gaps, he has been flawless with his performances winning two singles ATP titles on his comeback after the North American swing.
Jean-Rene Lisnard, a former tennis player from France who was also the former coach of Daniil Medvedev claimed that Nadal and Djokovic pave the biggest threats to the upcoming generations. The French coach further stated that even though age is not on their side, they have been quite dominant, especially at the Grand Slams.
Lisnard during an interview said that “Look what happened even this year – Australia was won by Nadal, France by Nadal again, Wimbledon by Djokovic. So for more frequent Slam wins, Medvedev, Zverev, and the whole next generation will have to wait until they finish. It is enough for them to play ten tournaments a year – and they are still better than the rest. Even at 35-36 years old, they are able to be at the top of tennis. “
Rafael Nadal confirms his participation at the Paris Masters and also at the year-end championships
The 21-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t played a single match since his fourth-round exit at the US Open. Nadal suffered an abdominal injury during Wimbledon which hampered his second half of the year performances despite a great first half in 2022. He last played at the Laver Cup along with the Swiss maestro Roger Federer in his farewell tournament.
After his withdrawal from Laver Cup, he had earlier stated about uncertainty over his schedule since his wife was dealing with some complications in her pregnancy. He welcomed a bay baby on the 14th of October and is utilizing his time with his newborn baby born before he is back on the Tour.
With much anticipation over his comeback, he has confirmed his participation in the Paris masters followed by the Nitto ATP Finals. He will be looking to end the year on a good note and with a slight chance of regaining the top spot if he manages to win all his events whereas if by any chance Carlos Alcaraz suffers an early exit.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)