ATP: Rafael Nadal - Rome? Paris? It remains exciting!
When and where will Rafael Nadal 's comeback to the ATP tour take place? At the Masters event in Rome, at the Grand Slam tournament in Paris - or in between?
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit:
May 01, 2023, 01:13 am
Last week Toni Nadal made it clear that his nephew would definitely start at the second Grand Slam tournament of the year. No question - for Rafael Nadal, the 14-time French Open record champion, there is no more important tennis tournament of the year. Missing out on this is not an option for the 36-year-old Mallorquin, even if his health somehow allows it.
Uncle Toni also let it be known that the clay court god's comeback could take place before the major event in Paris. However, this comment should be treated with caution, as the most realistic variant remains the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, which, like the combined event currently taking place in Madrid, will be held for the first time this year as a two-week event . Nevertheless, the "bull from Manacor" should be fully competitive again in ten days at the latest. Will that work out?
Best template for Nadal's coup himself
Of course, there would still be the option for "Rafa" to bake smaller rolls at one of the ATP World Tour 250 events in Geneva (Switzerland) or Lyon (France) the week before Roland Garros in order to gain the important match experience to load a more volatile part of the player's internal memory. For the former number one, acclimatization on site would also be lost, but if a top professional knows the tennis facility in the 16th arrondissement of Paris inside and out, then Rafael Nadal is probably the best.
Either way - it will certainly not be an easy task for the 22-time Grand Slam Champion 2023 to be able to celebrate his 15th full success at the French Open. The Spaniard himself showed how the coup could succeed at the Australian Open 2022, when he came out of an injury break and won a 250 preparation tournament in Melbourne, only to then celebrate his second title at the Grand Slam event "down under". .