After his triumphs at the Australian Open and French Open, Rafael Nadal could continue his quest for a 2022 Grand Slam when Wimbledon kicks off on June 27.
An injury-plagued 2021 has given way to a spectacular season so far for Nadal, his emphatic Roland-Garros final triumph over Casper Ruud following his epic comeback win over Daniil Medvedev the Melbourne decider.
At 36, there is inevitably concern that Mueller-Weiss Syndrome, the foot problem that kept Nadal out of the second half of 2021, will prevent him from being the greatest of all time again.
Is Nadal heading to SW19? Find out the latest for the third major of the year.
Nadal said Wimbledon "has always been a priority" for him when asked about his participation in London after his French Open win.
Worryingly for fans eager to see him at Wimbledon, the 2022 in-form player has also admitted he will only play if he can compete with the help of anti-inflammatories rather than anaesthetic injections.
The man with the most significant titles in history, 22, said he was "positive" and "sure" to be at Wimbledon and has since been photographed relaxing in Mallorca, where he trained with Spanish tennis sensation Martin Landaluce.
The two players on one court said that Nadal would decide about Wimbledon on the weekend of June 18.MORE: Nick Kyrgios accuses fan of racist taunting in loss to Andy Murray
Rafael Nadal's next match
If he participates in Wimbledon, Nadal will return to action on Monday, June 27 or Tuesday, June 28, when the first-round matches occur.
This page will be updated once the official Wimbledon schedule is published, with details on Nadal's next opponent and the expected start time.
Despite grass being Nadal's most minor favourite surface, the two-time champion has reached the final four of the tournament seven of the 14 times he has played Wimbledon, including in each of his last two appearances.
Nadal turned 17 when he advanced to the third round of Wimbledon on his debut in 2003 and reached the final in 2006 and 2007, leading Roger Federer to four sets in his first title fight and five sets in his second. chance. In the glory
Vengeance fell to Nadal the following year, winning an epic against the Swiss legend by taking the fifth set 9-7 in a final that lasted almost five hours, a match considered by many to be one of the best the sport has seen.
The victory was much easier in the 2010 final when Nadal beat Tomas Berdych in straight sets as part of a year in which the only major he failed to win was the Australian Open.
The loss to Novak Djokovic in the 2011 final preceded a six-year stretch in which Nadal did not advance beyond the fourth round before reaching the semi-finals in 2018 and 2019.
Djokovic outscored Nadal 10-8 in the fifth set in the first of those and was eliminated by Federer in his most recent appearance before a two-year hiatus caused by the tournament being cancelled during the pandemic and, in 2021, by that injury. On foot.
Rarely has there been an incentive for Nadal to shine at Wimbledon, like in 2022. Djokovic will start as the favourite, but Nadal knows his first title at the tournament in 12 years will bring him tantalizingly close to the Grand Slam on the calendar - a feat no singles player male has achieved since Rod Laver in 1969.
Login To Leave a Comment