Former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal hasn’t walked off the court beaten at a Grand Slam match all year. But he’s still one of the biggest question marks coming into this U.S. Open – even to himself.
An abdominal tear forced the Spaniard to retire from Wimbledon in the semifinals, and he’s only played once since – a Cincinnati loss to eventual champion Borna Coric. The injury robbed him of his ability to serve, and now Nadal – who missed the past two U.S. Opens – comes in seeded second and hoping he’ll be healthier, but unsure if he’s healthy enough.
“Excited to play here. It’s one of the most important places in my tennis career, without a doubt,” said Nadal, a four-time U.S. Open champ. “So, just looking for every single practice to be better and better, just be competitive from the first round. So let’s see.
“It isa tough injury because it’s dangerous, it’s risky. When you have a scar, it’s a place that you put lot of effort when you’re serving…You need to find flexibility again, because when you have a scar there (it’s) not flexible – the risk of breaking when you’re doing an important movement back there on a thing that is not flexible like before, the risk is higher.”
Nadal admits he took it easy in Cincinnati, scaling back his serves. Now practicing for his first-round match vs. Rinky Hijikata, he’s had more time to both recover and adjust.
“Here I am practicing; I’m doing things the best way that I can. I hope to be ready for the action: That’s the only thing I can say,” said Nadal. “I have what I have. With the tools I have (now) I hope to be competitive enough to give myself a chance.”
No stranger to pain, Nadal seemed close to retiring a few months ago thanks to foot pain that’d dogged him all the way back to last season. He still won the Australian Open and Roland Garros, and – thanks to Dr. Ángel Ruiz-Cotorro – he made the Wimbledon semis vs. Nick Kyrgios before the muscle tear stopped him.
Nadal, 36, isn’t in peak form. But with Novak Djokovic missing due to his refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccine (“The world of tennis keeps going,” Nadal shrugged “Even if is not a good news for everyone, the world continues and the tennis will continue”), even a moderately-healthy Nadal has a great shot to win.
A fifth title in Flushing would give Nadal 23 Majors – which would be tied with the retiring Serena Williams for the most in the Open Era.
But there are plenty of bridges to cross before that. Nada’s first stiff challenge could be No. 7 seed Cameron Norrie in the quarterfinals. Norrie was practicing Friday against Nadal’s fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who could be a tantalizing semifinal opponent if both get that far.
“Of course, it would be amazing for me to play a semifinal here against Rafa; but there are great matches ahead. There are a lot of days before going to a semifinal,” said Alcaraz, 20. “Rafa (has) to win his matches, as well. So it’s a long process. Yeah, it would be amazing to face Rafa in the semifinal here in US Open.”