Rafael Nadal has been told that he must play the Australian Open if he wants a shot at winning a 15th French Open crown in a fairytale return. The Spaniard hasn’t played a match since January, when he picked up a psoas injury. And Boris Becker has warned the 22-time Major champion that it will be a “long road back” that must start in Melbourne.
Nadal has been sidelined for nine months, shutting down his season back in May and undergoing surgery in June. The 37-year-old recently returned to the practice court and is targeting a return in 2024 but has not committed to any tournaments yet.
The two-time Australian Open champion was recently forced to deny claims that he would be making his comeback in Melbourne after tournament director Craig Tiley announced Nadal’s return. But retired pro Becker believes that Nadal needs to play Down Under to get some matches in before the most important tournament of his career – the French Open.
“[Nadal] won’t play his best tennis right away, but he has to play Australia,” the six-time Grand Slam champion told Eurosport’s Das Gelbe vom Ball. Although Nadal isn’t sure whether he’ll be ready to compete by January, Becker thinks it is a must in order for the Spaniard to “perform on clay in April – physically, mentally, playfully.”
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive tennis news
Just in Andy Murray pokes fun at marathon man reputation after ‘ridiculous’ match[LATEST]
The German added: “His big goal when he comes back is not Melbourne, but Roland Garros.” The Parisian clay courts will definitely be on Nadal’s mind – especially as the French Open will also be the home of next year’s Olympic tennis event.
But he will face a challenge in getting back to his best as Becker believes Nadal will go back to being “hunted” by his rivals. “It will be a long, rocky road back. The young wild ones don’t sleep. They don’t say, ‘Nadal, it’s nice that you came. We’ll let you win now,’” he continued.
For now, Becker is taking it as a positive sign that Nadal has returned to the practice courts. And the 55-year-old still backs the 93-time title winner to be a contender on the biggest stages once again. “Nadal should go back on the court and play well,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, he can win big tournaments again.”
- Advert-free experience without interruptions.
- Rocket-fast speedy loading pages.
- Exclusive & Unlimited access to all our content.
Don’t miss…
Wimbledon champ was left ‘in tears’ after getting four-year ban as appeal begins[REACTION]
Djokovic can have ‘problems’ with new young rival in threat to end of year goal[QUOTES]
Boris Becker makes ‘misleading’ Alcaraz plea despite coaching Spaniard’s rival[PLEA]
Nadal himself isn’t putting any expectations on his comeback. “I would like to play again, to be competitive. But I’m not expecting to come back and win Roland Garros or Australia, so that people are not disoriented,” he told Movistar last month.
But the 37-year-old has already made progress in his practice sessions since downplaying his hopes of winning big titles. It remains to be seen whether Nadal has any more Major trophies left in him but he has already come back from career-threatening injuries in the past and Becker will be among those cheering him on to complete another fairytale run.
Source: Read Full Article