Rafael Nadal, gearing up for a comeback at the Brisbane International after a long injury hiatus, faces doubts from his coach Carlos Moya about handling the pressure of Grand Slam tennis.
Recovering from a hip injury that derailed his previous season, Nadal has shown progress in training. However, Moya is concerned about Nadal’s transition from training to competing in high-stakes matches, particularly at the Australian Open which is being played mid January.
Despite these fears, there is optimism around Nadal’s preparation and his ability to return to form for potentially his final year on tour.
Legend, and 22 time Grand Slam winner, Nadal has not played competitively since last year, when he suffered a muscle injury at Melbourne Park.
No longer a favorite
At the moment, a win for Nadal at Australian Open is giving you around 19 times the money at the most betting sites. Clearly the bookmakers are not giving him much chance, and we tend to agree. Will you include him in your Australian Open betting strategies at all?
Brisbane first test for Nadal
First of all Nadal is getting ready for the the Brisbane International, which will be his return event. Coach Moya has spoken about his player’s progress ahead of this big comeback.
“Rafa is going to go from training, which he is doing very well, to competing. And it is impossible to have the same conditions in training as in a match”, says Moya and continues:
“Playing the best of five sets, win, rest, return to the court two days later. That is the doubt I have right now, especially for a Grand Slam. But we have time. If the Australian Open started tomorrow, it would be a real fear”.
Nadal is now out of the top 100 rankings, something we haven’t see the last 20 years. He has now slipped to number 668, however Nadal is still eligible as a protected ranking having been injured (not competing for at least six months.)