At half past eleven in the morning, the rectangular perimeter of Roland Garros training court 2 does not admit a single more body. Asses strictly glued to the chairs, a very long line of people standing, everyone well gathered to watch Rafael Nadal play, who is back and, in some way, returns to the guts of those present the itch that was lost last year. last year with his absence. Down there, the champion of 22 majors performs thoroughly with the Argentine Mariano Navone, 32nd in the world, replacement for the one who theoretically was going to be the initial partner in the session: gosh, target, Alexander Zverev, the giant who threatens today and appears in the first round on Monday, all or nothing from the starting gun.
“I didn’t want to face him so soon, but it is what it is. He’s been injured for a long time, hasn’t played much, and his ranking It is what it is. But in my mind there is the thought that I am going to play against the best Rafa Nadal; I hope he plays the best tennis he has played in a long time. I remember that a couple of years ago he came here without having won Monte Carlo, Madrid or Rome, that everyone said that it was a big question mark, and that this and that… And in the end he dominated the entire tournament, so I hope to the best Nadal,” the German will say later, in the afternoon, without lowering his guard one bit because at the end of the day, on the other side of the net will be the king of the 14 trophies, three defeats in 115 games (97%). , 19 participations. The totem.
But it turns out that Nadal lands in Paris in more than complex circumstances, having competed little – 11 games this season, eight on clay – and with the rather negative impact of his last intervention in Rome. For this reason, to the effort made first thing in the morning another is added at noon—this time at the plant—and then another in the afternoon to finish the process. He doubles down on his maxim: more and more work. “The plan” is heard these days in tennis circles. By piecework, the tennis player continues to accumulate training and push himself, in search of that point that will restore his shine and allow him to be competitive in the coming days, hence the triple rations this week: three hours a day of hitting balls, in crescendo.
The Spaniard calibrates his game against top level tennis players, after the adaptation on Monday: Sebasian Korda (28th) on Tuesday, Stan Wawrinka (winner of three majors) on Wednesday and Daniil Medvedev (5th) on Thursday. Ultimately he is tested against Navone, who plays the rubber in exchanges and rarely scratches a game. The Argentine suffers, while Nadal – 38 years old on June 3, 92 titles in his museum and 1,299 duels behind him – demands himself with an intensity very similar to that he exerts between real fire, as if he were already in full competition: “ No, not like that!”, he gets ugly up to three times, when his backhand hits the mesh.
“Battle” is coming
Nonconformist by nature, Nadal tries to make up for the time lost by the inclemencies to which his body subjects him. He has not participated in a big stage since January of last year, in the second round in Australia, so in the tests the load is increasing to try to get in tune for a hypothetical long distance test against Zverev, in the premiere, or whoever. whether he manages to move forward.
“Everyone is excited about this tough battle in the first round; I think he is, and so am I. Who had the worst luck in the draw? He has 22 grand… So I wish I were so unlucky!”, adds the one from Hamburg in the talk with journalists; “I think if we both had a choice, we would choose something different. I really wanted to play against him one more time before his career ends, because I didn’t want to be left with the memory of two years ago leaving Chatrier (when he tore seven ligaments in the semi-final match between the two) in a wheelchair. ; but not now, in a first round, but later; in the semifinals or the final… But this is what it is, and I think both he and I are prepared for a battle.”
The German’s insistence on the term “battle” does not seem coincidental. Behind the scenes, a long-lasting match is predicted, along the lines of the one they played in 2022: without closing the second set, the clock already registered 3h 13m. “But Sasha“, recalls the older brother of the Zverevs, a former player and today an analyst for Eurosport, in addition to directing the career of the 27-year-old tennis player, “he was injured and could not continue. Now things have changed. Everyone asks me what I think he’s going to happen, and I always say that Sascha could and should have won that day. This time he will also win, because Nadal has become slower and his physical form leaves a lot to be desired. The shots remain the same, but the big question is whether he can play all five sets. I hope it ends in three, but it will be a tough match, perhaps not so much physically, but emotionally because it could be Nadal’s last match at Roland Garros.”
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