Rafael Nadal just finished his tour of South America, where he defeated Casper Ruud in four of five matches. 2022 gave the Spanish champion two Grand Slams, the Australian Open and Roland Garros, but no Masters 1000. The former world number 1 therefore hoisted himself to 22 Majors, stretching over Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the all- time.
The Serbian then closed the gap by triumphing at Wimbledon for the fourth time in a row, the seventh ever. Rafa also expressed great tennis on the lawns of Church Road, but a torn abs forced him to retire on the eve of the semifinal against Nick Kyrgios.
That injury also conditioned his preparation for the US Open, where he failed to go beyond the round of 16 (beaten by host Frances Tiafoe in four sets). The season finale was quite disappointing for the Majorcan, who left the scene prematurely both at Paris-Bercy and at the ATP Finals in Turin.
Jack Draper on Rafa Nadal
In a recent interview with We Love Tennis Magazine, Jack Draper spoke about Rafael Nadal: “As a southpaw, I loved watching how Rafael Nadal used his southpaw serve and forehand to get the better of his opponents.
But being British, I also have to admit that I grew up watching and supporting Andy Murray. Seeing a British player compete and win at the highest level inspired me to pursue my goal of competing on the circuit, it was a big inspiration.”
Rafael Nadal reckons it’s more important to create a legacy by leaving behind good memories rather than being called the best player of all time. “I don’t think about it (being the best player). I think it’s something that goes to the background.
The important legacy is that all the people I have lived with during these 20 years of my career have a good human memory of me. After all, the personal issue, education, respect and affection with which you can treating people is above the professional issue, because it is what remains in time”
In a recent interview with Puntobreak, Nadal has revealed that he may have found a solution to his chronic foot injury, which has changed his view of continuity at the highest level. “The season has had several very different phases and was totally marked by my physical problems.
Everything changed when we found an effective treatment for the foot, which has helped me a lot. That radically changed the perspective of my continuity in high-level tennis,” Nadal said.
