Wilander predicts Nadal's future: "I don't care about the fact that Rafa turns 40 in four years. I don't think it matters"

Rafael Nadal won two grand slams this year but he also came close to retirement so Mats Wilander gave his prediction on what will happen in the future.

Rafael Nadal flirted with retirement earlier this year after winning Roland Garros and while he didn't do it, there will always be talk aboout him possibly talking away from the game. Wilander doesn't see it, especially if his foot doesn't bother him as much as it didn't in the past few weeks.

Talking to Eurosport he said:

"I would think that after you won your last Grand Slam tournament, there are about three or four years left in you, for sure, especially if you keep your ranking in the top eight. If you have just won the Australian Open and the French Open in 2022, I would say you have three or four more years."

He continued:

"I don't care about the fact that Rafa turns 40 in four years. I don't think it matters because you are going to have in your mind 'hey, kids, I've done this now since I was 17-18 years old'. "It is five sets, that is a marathon, but if you sprint, you are going to kill yourself, you are going to get too tired, and if you walk, he will be faster than you."

Wilander concluded with:

"Rafa knows what he is looking for: he knows emotionally what he is looking for; he knows physically what he is looking for. He knows how much he has to train to have any chance of achieving that feeling, both physically and mentally. If his injuries are okay, I think he is going to get there. There is a lot of luck involved, for sure. I think Rafa is going to need a bit of luck, but he would say he always got a bit of luck. When you win that much, you need a bit of luck, and so I think he is going to be back."