‘I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rafael Nadal at the highest level again’, says former world No 1
Former world No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero has declared that he would not be surprised to see Rafael Nadal “at the highest level again” when he returns to tennis.
The 2003 French Open champion also views it as “logical” that Nadal does not see himself competing with Novak Djokovic given the time he has spent away from the sport.
Nadal has not played since suffering a hip injury in his second round loss to Mackenzie McDonald at the 2023 Australian Open in January. The 22-time Grand Slam champion underwent surgery on the issue in June, having initially expected to be out for only six to eight weeks.
The 37-year-old was forced to postpone his planned comeback during the clay-court season and missed the French Open for the first time since 2004. He revealed in a press conference announcing his withdrawal from Roland Garros that 2024 would likely be his final season on the tour.
Last week, Nadal confirmed he had made significant progress in his training and would be returning to the sport. The former world No 1 was positive he could be competitive in his comeback, but ruled out the possibility of chasing down Djokovic’s record tally of 24 Grand Slam titles.
“I know it will be difficult to return to a very high level of tennis, but if I did not have the hope of being competitive again, I would not have done the work I did these months,” the Mallorcan said.
“The effort that must be made after a very long career, which the years weigh on. I’m not going to win more Grand Slams than Novak Djokovic, but I’m going to give myself the opportunity to have fun again.”
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In an interview with Marca, Ferrero, the coach of world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz, understood Nadal’s comments regarding Djokovic but believes his mentality means he cannot be written off.
“He will surely return wanting to compete because he has a competitive animal inside him. I see it as logical that he does not see himself competing with Djokovic, or against the best right now, because he has been out of competition for a long time and it is always difficult to get started,” said the Spaniard.
“But once he is on the track, his mentality of competing at his best will not change. In the [2022] Australian Open that he won against [Daniil] Medvedev, it was thought that he had less chances and he won.
“Those who are very, very good always come up with something different from the others and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them at the highest level again. How long? Whatever it gives him physically, but I don’t think he’ll be satisfied with winning two games.”
The 16-time ATP titlist also addressed whether the 14-time French Open champion would be a rival for Alcaraz at Roland Garros next year.
“I would like it so, I wouldn’t like [him] to get there and not win games. Rafa deserves a chance to play well again for everything he has been. It would be exciting to see it,” said Ferrero.
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