Rafael Nadal - Clear priorities in the clay court season
Rafael Nadal will play his first tournament since the Australian Open in Monte Carlo. The Spaniard's big goal is the French Open again this year.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Apr 08, 2021, 07:19 pm
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2018 - these were the years Rafael Nadal won the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo. The balance in the principality, it could be worse for the world number three. And yet there is one place where the Spaniard triumphed even more often than in Monte Carlo.
It is Paris where the 34-year-old was able to achieve an incredible 13 tournament victories in Roland Garros. At the French Open, Nadal is always to be expected regardless of his previous constitution, but the Iberian himself knows that the dominance in the second Grand Slam tournament of the year will not last forever.
Targeted preparation for the French Open
For this reason, the 20-time major champion has been preparing for his personal highlight of the season in the French capital in a more and more targeted manner in the recent past. Nadal took a similar path this year: since his quarter-finals at the Australian Open against Stefanos Tsitsipas, he has not played a single match.
In Monte Carlo, Nadal will now return to the international tennis stage. His doctor, Doctor Angel Ruiz Cotorro, told RTVE that he has been training well and hard lately. He made no secret of the priorities of the long-time world number one: "His goal is the clay court season. First Monte Carlo and ultimately Roland Garros."