{"id":295400,"date":"2023-11-16T15:09:39","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T15:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=295400"},"modified":"2023-11-16T15:09:39","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T15:09:39","slug":"rafael-nadal-concedes-defeat-to-djokovic-as-he-shares-exciting-comeback-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/tennis\/rafael-nadal-concedes-defeat-to-djokovic-as-he-shares-exciting-comeback-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal concedes defeat to Djokovic as he shares exciting comeback update"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/Nadal-5069733.jpg?r=1700144117100\"><\/p>\n<p>Rafael Nadal has shared a significant update about his eventual comeback after spending the year on the sidelines. The Spaniard has confirmed that he will be able to return from injury and is now hoping to announce something even more concrete in the coming weeks. But Nadal has already conceded to Novak Djokovic in the Grand Slam race, vowing that he won&#8217;t be able to overtake his rival\u2019s tally of 24 trophies.<\/p>\n<p>Nadal has been out of action since injuring his left psoas during his second-round defeat at the Australian Open. He then failed to mount a comeback for the clay swing and called a press conference in May, announcing that he would be shutting down his season and that 2024 would likely be his final year on tour.<\/p>\n<p>The 37-year-old also underwent arthroscopic hip surgery in June and has been back on the practice court over the last few weeks. Nadal was still uncertain about his comeback just two months ago but he has now given arguably his biggest update yet, confirming that he believes he will be able to return to professional tennis.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI sincerely believe that I will return to play,\u201d Nadal said at the Clinica del Tenis, per Marca. \u201cI can\u2019t say at what level I\u2019ll be able to return, but I\u2019ve never lost the desire to play and now it seems that things are going in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive tennis news.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> <strong> Just in <\/strong> <strong>Nick Kyrgios calls Novak Djokovic &#8216;an alien&#8217; and names Zverev as inspiration[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/5069745.jpg?r=1700144117162\"><\/p>\n<p>The former world No 1 still can&#8217;t give a tournament or date for his comeback but admitted he is taking positive steps and will likely announce something soon. He continued: \u201cI&#8217;m not ready to say whether it will be in one place or another, but I&#8217;m happy with how things are going. A few weeks ago, I wasn&#8217;t in a position to say if I could come back, but the steps forward have been positive. I hope to be able to say something more concrete in the next few weeks\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m training and I&#8217;m happy. It&#8217;s a good time in my life. This is a step forward without any doubt, and it&#8217;s a lot for me. I haven\u2019t played for a year and for me personal success, which is often more powerful than overall success, is to continue to imagine returning to play.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/g> <defs> <clipPath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"\/> <\/clipPath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Support fearless journalism<\/li>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/g> <defs> <clipPath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"\/> <\/clipPath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Read The Daily Express online, advert free<\/li>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/g> <defs> <clipPath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"\/> <\/clipPath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Get super-fast page loading<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/logo\/logo-premium-subscription.png\"><\/p>\n<p> <strong> Don&#8217;t miss&#8230; <\/strong> <br \/> <strong>Coco Gauff&#8217;s brutal tennis &#8216;pre-season&#8217; training just two weeks after WTA Finals[RECAP] <\/strong> <br \/> <strong>Nick Kyrgios calls Andrey Rublev &#8216;crazy&#8217; after ATP Finals incident[REACTION] <\/strong> <br \/> <strong>Alexander Zverev claims he&#8217;ll be Daniil Medvedev&#8217;s &#8216;No 1 fan in the world'[QUOTES] <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/5069755.jpg?r=1700144117222\"><\/p>\n<p>However, Nadal is also unsure as to what his level will be when he does return. The Spaniard previously held the record for most men\u2019s singles Grand Slam titles at 22 but Djokovic matched and then surpassed his long-time rival this year, now having 24 trophies to his name.<\/p>\n<p>And the 37-year-old knows that he won\u2019t be able to chase the Serb down in the Grand Slam race, instead putting his focus on enjoying himself on the court. Nadal added: \u201cI know it will be difficult to return to a very high level of tennis, but if I didn\u2019t have the desire to be competitive again I wouldn\u2019t have done the work I\u2019ve done these months. I&#8217;m not going to win more Grand Slams than Novak Djokovic, but I&#8217;m going to have the opportunity to enjoy myself again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/tennis\/1835761\/Rafael-Nadal-Novak-Djokovic-injury-comeback-update\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Rafael Nadal has shared a significant update about his eventual comeback after spending the year on the sidelines. The Spaniard has confirmed that he will <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/tennis\/rafael-nadal-concedes-defeat-to-djokovic-as-he-shares-exciting-comeback-update\/\" title=\"Rafael Nadal concedes defeat to Djokovic as he shares exciting comeback update\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295399,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rafael Nadal concedes defeat to Djokovic as he shares exciting comeback update - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/tennis\/rafael-nadal-concedes-defeat-to-djokovic-as-he-shares-exciting-comeback-update\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rafael Nadal concedes defeat to Djokovic as he shares exciting comeback update - Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rafael Nadal has shared a significant update about his eventual comeback after spending the year on the sidelines. 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