It’s been a while since I don’t communicate with you. Took my time off, started rehab, gym and physiotherapy as instructed by the doctors. Getting ready to come back the in the best conditions.
Wilander believes one factor will hinder Nadal in twilight of his career: "He's going to obviously become slower and slower because of age"
ATPWednesday, 08 March 2023 at 16:30
Rafael Nadal has been amazing for decades but Mats Wilander sees him slowing in this final chapter of his career which will make things very hard for him.
Nadal is set to leave the top 10 for the first time since entering it back in 2005 after this year's Indian Wells and no stat proves how great he was then that one. Such longevity at the top of a very competitive game is unheard of but it also might signal the start of the end for Rafael Nadal as a tennis player.
According to Wilander Nadal will struggle more and more as the game becomes faster and faster:
“The game is moving in a direction that is becoming faster and faster all the time. And I think you see with Rafa Nadal that he's been changing his game as much as he can, but you still have to be able to get to the ball in time to make all these changes, to hit the slice backhand, to come to the net a little bit more."
“He's going to obviously become slower and slower because of age, but also if you can't practise all the time, you do lose some speed. I think the last thing that would ever go away from Rafael Nadal's game is his actual game. I think hitting the ball, he's getting better, he's getting more creative. But in terms of the physical part of moving, I think, yes, he's going to get slower because he's not able to train as much all the time and he's getting older."
“So there comes a point when there's a limit to how much you can do with a tennis ball without being able to move around at close to 100%. And I think that's going to be his biggest enemy. But at the same time, Rafa Nadal keeps coming up with new solutions. Mentally, he's most probably as strong as ever. Tactically, he's more clever now, maybe because he's forced to be more clever. I'm worried because he's getting older… we’ve seen these injuries before and he knows how to come back from them. The question is, at his age, is it getting harder and harder?”
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