Six months ago, sidelined from the ATP Tour with an old left foot injury, Rafael Nadal had little hope about his chances of returning to competition. Now everything seems like a dream for the Spaniard after winning his 21st Grand Slam title. In fact, at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, his first tournament since the Australian Open, he will have the chance to post the best start to the season of his career.
“The beginning of the year has been infinitely better than I could have ever imagined. Winning in Australia was a deep satisfaction. But not so much because I reached the No. 21 title in Grand Slams. But because it came from a very difficult time for me, ”said the No. 5 in the ATP Ranking, who in early January played his first ATP match in five months.
Now Nadal is 10-0 in 2022 after also winning the Melbourne Summer Set. And in Acapulco he will have the possibility of reaching twelve wins in his first twelve games of the season, something he has never achieved in his career. His best record so far was by winning his first eleven matches in 2014.
Rafa’s best streaks starting the season
| Year | Consecutive wins |
| 2014 | 11 |
| 2022 | 10 |
| 2019 | 6 |
The 90-time ATP Tour champion has plenty of motivation to keep improving himself. Even at 35 years old. “Feeling competitive in Australia and seeing that my foot lasted up to five hours in a day, pushes me to keep playing, gives me the energy to keep going,” he added this Sunday at a press conference. “When I was 23 years old I thought that at 29 I wouldn’t be playing. When I was 29 I thought that at 33 I would not be where I finally was. But for now I’m still here. And that’s very nice.”
Acapulco will be his first tournament as the winningest man in majors in history. It seemed like an impossible milestone to reach when he came within ten Grand Slam titles of Roger Federer after the 2010 Australian Open. That is why his new status fuels the debate about who will end up being considered the best of the Big-3, a trident that also integrates Novak Djokovic.
Rafa also spoke about it. “I think in the end it’s about taste. There are different kinds of arguments that could give anyone the label of the best in history. And all those arguments are valid. It depends on where you look at it. The reality is that the three of us have done more than we could have dreamed of. And from there, let the experts speak and we dedicate ourselves to playing”.
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Nadal continues with his feet on the ground. So much so that he is aware of how difficult it will be to advance far in the Mexican ATP 500, where he last triumphed in 2020 (d. Fritz). “I had a very complicated draw,” analyzes Nadal, who could face Matteo Berrettini in the quarterfinals and Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals. The two were his rivals on the way to the title in Australia.
“But today I’m not thinking about those things. I’m just happy to play tennis. I really want to do it after playing so few tournaments in recent times. That is why I have come here, and because I have the illusion of continuing to compete beyond the results”. His first challenge will be against a lucky loser to be defined, after Reilly Opelka was discharged due to fatigue (see full table).
The meeting will be on Tuesday night in the new stadium of the contest, with capacity for more than ten thousand spectators. It seems that the mere fact of being able to compete again after his enormous effort in Melbourne is already a prize for Rafa. And his words back it up. “My only expectation this week is to be able to play.”
Did you know…?
Nadal has won 50 matches in his career on the ATP Tour competing in tournaments in Latin America. His best record among those events is in Acapulco (20-2).
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