The tennis lover shudders at the possibility of witnessing the return of Rafael Nadal (37), the Manacori colossus who has been lying fallow for a year, measuring each of his movements, resting for months and then working in the dark, analyzing his condition. of health, since the tricky injury to the iliopsoas has taken his skull.
What if yes, what if no, what if he returns in April and then in July, and finally to the operating room, already in the summer, now the champion of 22 Grand Slams returns to the scene and he does so by sharing his training sessions on social networks and also His reflections, since a date has been given for the return, he has set it for the Brisbane tournament (Australia), at the beginning of January, where Holger Rune, Grigor Dimitrov, Ben Shelton, Ugo Humbert and Andy Murray, another one, will also be classic that perseveres in its intentions to relive the glory days.
As a commitment, Nadal shared his thoughts in a video last Monday, and now he has reviewed some concepts, insisting on the idea that this return is a trip to the essences of tennis, to the enjoyment of sensations, nothing to do with the desire to compete and win everything, that cannibalistic spirit that has always distinguished him.
"A year has ended that has been long, in which I have gone through many phases, from trying to compete in the gravel season and disappointment after disappointment until it was time to stop and say enough and look for a solution, which was the operation From there it was a new horizon, a difficult path, but maintaining the hope of returning," said the man from Manaco, today racket number 663 on the ATP circuit, light years away from his time of leadership, actually not so far away. (In January of this same 2023, before his hip injury, he was 2nd in the world).
"There have been doubts, moments when it seemed difficult for this moment (that of his return) to arrive, but the spirit of work, the enthusiasm, has been maintained, and I think I am ready to return. I don't know at what level, I don't know what It can be expected, I have no idea, but I don't care either (...) I am fully excited to make the effort necessary to have fun and be competitive. I have been training for a good few weeks at a level that allows me the possibility of compete again. I don't aspire to anything else, just to be competitive."
