“It’s been tough,” Rafael Nadal opens up about the struggles of his comeback before Australian Open

Nadal admits that it is difficult to maintain the 'adrenaline' on daily basis.

“It’s been tough,” Rafael Nadal opens up about the struggles of his comeback before Australian Open

Rafael Nadal (Image via Eurosport)

Rafael Nadal returned to professional tennis in the Brisbane International. After missing almost a year due to injury, the Spaniard was back in action in the Round of 32 match against Dominic Thiem.

Rafa produced a superb performance against Thiem to bag a win by defeating Thiem in straight sets. In an interview with the ATP Tour, the veteran Spaniard opened up about his comeback and hard work that led him to this.

In the interview, Rafa said,

FS Video
I have been working a lot to be where I am today. So, personal satisfaction is quite high. After all the surgery process that I had, I doubted I would be able to start this January. But I feel much better today than what I expected one month ago. And that for me, already that's super positive. It's been tough, of course. I was not able to do the things I wanted to do.

The 37-year-old also remarked about the mental challenges he has to go through as he was not able to play tennis for a prolonged period. Rafa said, 

I was not able to play tennis. I was not able to enjoy a lot because of the pain I went through for a long period. But I enjoyed my time at home, see my son grow and spend time with my family. I am very happy outside of tennis. But this adrenaline that you have in any sport is very difficult to find in the daily basis. For me it's accepting the unpredictable and that's the thing today.

With the Australian Open set to commence in a few days, Rafael Nadal would definitely have his eyes on the mega prize

After, his comeback to the court after a year, Rafa seems to be quite hungry and competitive for the sport. Even in the interview, Rafa said, 

I still have this fire inside to be competitive.

The Brisbane International will just be a good practice ground for him before the mega event of the Australian Open starts on 14th January. With this being his last professional tennis season, Rafa would be looking to go big at Melbourne Park.

Rafael Nadal opens up about the hard work and dedication he has to go through to return to the court in January, says he is quite satisfied.
Rafael Nadal (Image via ATP Tour)

However, it won’t be a walk in the park for the Spaniard. With Novak Djokovic set to defend his title in the Australian Open, Rafa can expect to face tougher resilience. Besides, there are numerous other tough competitors, such as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Various critics have said that if Rafa is free from injuries, he can make it big in this season.

In case you missed: