Mats Wilander believes Rafael Nadal can achieve further successes
Mats Wilander believes thatRafael Nadal will also play for the big titles next year.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Nov 27, 2022, 07:01 pm
Rafael Nadal can really be satisfied with his season: The Spaniard won both the Australian Open and the French Open and finished the season in second place behind Carlos Alcaraz. Since his triumph in Roland Garros, however, the 36-year-old has been a bit upset, in particular the abdominal muscle injury suffered in Wimbledon marked a momentous cut for Nadal.
In the coming year, Nadal wants to continue the performance of the first half of the year. Mats Wilander, former number one in the world, believes the Mallorcan can at best have further successes. The Swede emphasized this in an interview with Eurosport . "Rafa knows what it takes physically. He knows how much training he needs to have a chance - both physically and mentally," said Wilander.
Nadal is currently second in the world rankings. "I think it will be very difficult to keep the position," said Wilander. "Winning another Grand Slam tournament, on the other hand, will be easier. Much easier than, for example, being number three in the world rankings, because he doesn't really need that."
However, Wilander does not believe that Nadal's career will end soon: "If you have just won the Australian Open and French Open, then you still have three or four years." According to Wilander, the fact that the 22-time major winner would already be 40 years old "wouldn't matter".