The beginning of each new year brings us the start of the ATP and the WTA. Within the enormous excitement generated by having the white sport back, especially knowing that in less than two weeks the first Grand Slam of 2024 will begin, something in particular has raised the expectations of fans: the return of Rafael Nadal. After 349 days since the last time we saw him play a competitive match, the one born in Palma de Mallorca has returned to the ATP professional circuit in a first round game at the 250 in Brisbane.
Once again, after the umpteenth injury in his brilliant career, the former world number one has done the impossible to be able to return to the courts, to the place that has made him a sports icon and a tennis legend. For the sixteenth time he has managed to leave physical problems behind to the approval of those who love white sport. On this occasion, his return has a sweeter flavor, because he is already 37 years old and the recent injury he suffered at the Australian Open last year made us think that it would be very difficult to see him play in the ATP, that the end was feasible. of an era, and that two thirds of the Big Three would be in retirement, accompanying their dear friend Roger Federer away from the fields. But, as usual, Rafa He has defied time and the wear and tear that his style of playing has brought to his body, to, after several months of rehabilitation, sacrifices and leaving behind complicated moments in his personal life, arrive at the Brisbane tournament ready to play his twenty-fourth season at the professional level.
The duel before Dominic Thiem has shown that the desire to Nadal to continue competing are still intact and, although it is true that his goodbye is approaching, he is not yet willing to hang up his racket, that the hunger to add wins is alive, and that, as long as his physique allows it, he will continue competing at the highest level. level.
In Tuesday’s match he still seemed a little slow, this due to the long inactivity, although at times he also showed his patented power with his forehand, his sensational backhand and an effective serve, which allowed him to leave behind a complicated first set. to dominate the Austrian in the second, and thus achieve his second victory in just over a year, after that in the first round in Melbourne in January 2023. Of course, Tuesday is not a parameter to measure the chances of Nadal of being able to do something similar to 2022, when he unexpectedly won the Australian Open, but it is a first step in the search for being able to take match play, thinking that, by managing his physique, and correctly choosing the number of tournaments to play, this year could be one in which we see him compete in the most important events. For now, the good news is that he is playing, and that he looked good yesterday, which generates the illusion of being able to enjoy his talent throughout 2024.
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2024-01-03 16:33:38
#Illusion