“You can never dismiss him” Learning the lessons from Melbourne and Paris, Marion Bartoli believes Rafael Nadal can win the Wimbledon
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Rafael Nadal and Marion Bartoli
World No. 4 Rafael Nadal will return to the All-England Club after an absence of 3 years having last played in the semi-finals of the 2019 edition. The Spaniard will come to the 2022 Wimbledon Championships looking for his 3rd title at the Grand Slam and the third major of the season having earlier claimed the titles in the 2022 Australian Open and the 2022 French Open.
Nadal last won the Wimbledon back in 2010 and has since then played only one final in the Grand Slam, losing to Novak Djokovic in 4-sets in the 2011 Wimbledon. He came very close in 2018 and 2019 but was knocked out in the semis by Djokovic and Roger Federer respectively. With Rafa’s last grass title coming back in 2015, many doubt that he can win the Grand Slam once again.
“He will surprise us”: Marion Bartoli on Rafael Nadal
While doubts continue to rise if Nadal, coming back from surgery, can win this year’s Wimbledon, 2013 Wimbledon champion and former World No. 7 Marion Bartoli has made her side clear with regard to predicting the Spaniard’s performance at this year’s Wimbledon where he is the second seed.
“At the Australian Open, when he was coming back from injury, none of us gave Nadal a chance. At Roland‐Garros, with everything that happened in Rome, none of us gave him a chance. I don’t want to eliminate him because he will definitely surprise us. You can never, absolutely never dismiss it. It has a more difficult draw. Novak seems to have a slightly easier draw, and again, that’s only on paper. As long as Rafa enters the court, he goes there because he thinks and he knows he has a chance to win the title,” said Bartoli on the Match Points podcast.
Rafa starts his campaign against Francisco Cerundolo marking the first meeting between the two. Nadal is one of the big favourites given the unfortunate withdrawal of last year’s runner-up Matteo Berrettini and a first round defeat for Hubert Hurkacz who made the semi-finals last year. With only Djokovic and Andy Murray as the only two former champions of the Grand Slam, Nadal has a good opportunity to claim his Grand Slam number 23.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)