The “competition animal” Nadal returns for one last speed

SYDNEY:

More than two decades after bursting onto the scene, the sun is setting on Rafael Nadal’s storied career with the Spanish gladiator hoping his creaking body can last long enough to see out the season.

The 37-year-old returns to the courts in Brisbane this week, almost a year since he last played professionally before a long-plagued injury curse returned with a vengeance.

It was a recurring theme of a record-breaking career that brought 22 Grand Slam titles and worldwide respect, a painful byproduct of his all-action, brutal hitting style that led to serious knee, wrist and leg battles. problems.

His most recent setback, at the 2023 Australian Open, resulted in two rounds of hip surgery and fears he would never grace the courts again.

But Nadal didn’t want it to end that way, and has braced himself for what he admits is likely to be his last season, to say goodbye to fans, “to enjoy it again”, but also to be competitive.

“I don’t know at what level (I can play), I don’t know what to expect, I have no idea, but I don’t care at the moment,” Nadal said this month, looking ahead to 2024.

“I’m happy to be back and with great enthusiasm I’ll put in the effort needed to have fun and I believe I’ll be competitive.”

His coach Carlos Moya gave an insight into how difficult it was to get to this point, admitting there were times when he thought Nadal’s career was over.

“When you go through a procedure like this operation … at the end of the day, going under the knife is really the last resort to try to get back and retire on the court,” Moya told the ATP Tour website on last week.

“Aware of these risks, he put it forward because it was the only option for him if he wanted to return.

“It was not a bed of roses, far from it. It was a winding road, winding, with many turns.”

That Nadal is still driven to hit balls is indicative of a player who, while quiet and unassuming off the court, was relentless in his pursuit of tennis glory.

That effort, and all the idiosyncrasies he’s famous for on court, has amassed 92 titles since turning pro in 2001, including 22 Slams.

He dominated the French Open, winning 14 of his majors, his first coming just days after his 19th birthday in 2005, his last in 2022, making him the oldest champion at the event.

On the famous crumbling brick of Roland Garros, he has lost just three times in 115 matches.

He is a four-time US Open champion, won Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010 and is a two-time Australian Open winner — with 13 years spanning his first triumph at Melbourne Park in 2009 and his second in 2022.

Whether Nadal — whose athleticism, power, mental strength and brilliant forehand made him one of the greatest of all time — will depend on how he manages himself.

But Moya admitted it was difficult to rein in his natural competitiveness.

“As much as we try to put it in his head and make him see it, when he steps on a tennis court, he’s a competitive animal,” she said.

“A big part of my job and the team’s job was to stop him. Stop him in terms of the training load, stop him in terms of the work hours, the intensity.”

In preparation for the Brisbane International and Australian Open, Nadal spent time at his academy in Kuwait seeking temperatures and conditions similar to those he will encounter in Australia.

He trained with fast-rising French teenager Arthur Fils and Moya said he went “much better than he could have hoped for”.

“Rafa went there thinking he wouldn’t be competitive, that he wouldn’t be good enough and he was convinced it could be possible.”