Rafael Nadal’s 2022 campaign has been nothing short of “a miracle” with his coach Carlos Moya saying it is a testament to his humbleness.
Having missed the second half of the 2021 season due to his chronic foot injury, Nadal started this year with a bang as he won three consecutive tournaments, including the Australian Open. He started the French Open under an injury cloud as his foot problem flared up again, but managed to get through the clay-court Grand Slam and was the final man standing after beating Casper Ruud in straight sets in the final.
Speaking about all of that, Moya said:
"I feel like 2022 for Rafa, it’s a miracle, since the very beginning of the year. After winning the first tournament, then the first Slam, he then got
hurt again and he didn’t have that much time for preparation for
Roland-Garros. He then ended up winning, and one week later, or two weeks later, I
thought, ‘okay, maybe he needs time to rest, he needs time to recover’.
Again, now, he is ready to go and try to play at
Wimbledon."
Moya continued:
“I feel like only Rafa can do that, honestly, because all the ups and
downs physically that he had he overcame them. It shows how humble he
is, and how much desire he has to keep on going."
On the season, the Spanish legend added:
“I don’t think he feels like winning the Calendar Slam; it’s not on
his mind. He is just going there to practise from the first day, get
ready, and probably have the best chance he can for the first round.
This is his only goal. Then he will go little by little. This is why Rafa deals very well
with these kinds of situations because he knows where he is and he just
goes for it, just being realistic.”