‘Hunted man’ Rafael Nadal warned to expect ‘long, rocky road back’ by tennis legend
Rafael Nadal has been told he will have to go “through the valley of tears” on his return to tennis with Boris Becker warning the tennis community not to expect too much too soon from the Spaniard.
Having missed the bulk of the 2023 tennis season due to a hip injury that required surgery in June, Nadal is on course to make his comeback in early 2024.
The Australian Open is likely to be his first event back although the 22-time Grand Slam winner himself has admitted that it is not yet all systems go for his comeback.
And while everyone is excited about his impending return, Becker is calling for caution as he warned that things won’t be straightforward.
Speaking on Eurosport’s Das Gelbe vom Ball, the former world No 1 stated that “Rafa has to go through the valley of tears” and added that “[Nadal] won’t play his best tennis right away, but he has to play Australia.”
The 37-year-old tennis icon has indicated that the 2024 season is likely to be his last as a professional and he will no doubt want to play as many tournaments on clay as possible with a deep run at Roland Garros likely to be his main aim.
And Becker feels playing in Melbourne will be key as he needs to get match practice and match toughness in order to “perform on clay in April – physically, mentally, playfully”.
“His big goal when he comes back is not Melbourne, but Roland-Garros,” the six-time major winner said.
Much like the rest of the tennis community, Becker can’t wait for the Spaniard to return, but he also warned of a tough road back.
“First of all, it’s good news that he wants to play and is on the training field,” he said.
The 55-year-old added that Nadal will “always be the hunted” and added: “It will be a long, rocky road back. The young savages don’t sleep. They don’t say, ‘Nadal, good to see you. We’re going to let you win now.”
Nadal admitted last week that he can’t give an official return date as is still in pain, but added that he has made progress.
“I’m not training without pain. I’m in less pain than I used to be, but I’m still in pain,” he revealed.
“However, this pain allows me to do more and more things eventually. Things would be different if I had zero pain. I could give you a date for my return if I had zero pain because I would have time to prepare myself for that.
“I’m training more now than a month ago but I’m taking it one day at a time. Let’s see if I have the chance to increase the intensity to come back little by little.”
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