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"He has to suffer a little so that he gets better": Tennis fans should temper Nadal expectations in comeback says Boris Becker
ATPWednesday, 20 December 2023 at 01:00
Boris
Becker discussed Rafael Nadal's comeback and advised fans not to have high
expectations for his return. According to Holger Rune's coach, Nadal is likely
targeting clay court tournaments, and in Melbourne, he will arrive without too
many expectations.
The Spanish
player last competed in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open (defeat
against Mackenzie McDonald) and will make his return at the ATP 250 Brisbane
International, where he will share the main draw with players like Rune, Grigor
Dimitrov, and Ben Shelton. This will be his only preparation tournament for the
first Grand Slam of the year.
Former
world No. 1 Boris Becker does not anticipate that Nadal's return to the courts
will result in significant winning streaks, at least initially. He urged fans
to temper their expectations, stating that the 22-times Grand Slam champion
will probably not showcase his best form at the Aussie Open: “I don’t think his
expectations for Melbourne are sky-high right now: if he wins a few matches
there, good for him,” he said.
Becker
pointed out that Nadal needs to accumulate matches to reach his peak physical
and competitive condition for the clay-court tournaments in April, particularly
the French Open: “He will then concentrate on the clay-court tournaments early
on. He’ll definitely play Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and maybe even Rome to
be 100 per cent fit again in Paris."
For the
German coach, Nadal's primary focus should be on clay court events, and he
believes Nadal will use the significant tournaments leading up to the French
Open to gain valuable match fitness and practice: “His goal has to be
Roland-Garros, and then the Olympics, both of which will be played in Paris on
clay, but he has to play first: he will only gain match fitness and match
practice by playing in matches,” he said. “So he has to suffer a little so that
he gets better in March, April, until he can play his best game in May,” Becker
added.
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