Can Rafael Nadal repeat 2010 exploits in 2022?
Rafael Nadal has enjoyed a brilliant 2022 season so far, winning 35 out of 38 matches with four titles to his name. Having won two Grand Slam titles, the Australian Open and Roland Garros, so far, the Spaniard could add a third at the US Open.
Nadal started the season by winning the Melbourne Summer Set 1, beating Maxime Cressy in the final. He then came from two sets down in the title clash against Daniil Medvedev to win the Australian Open.
The 36-year-old then won the Mexican Open in Acapulco without dropping a single set, beating Medvedev in the semifinals before triumphing over Cameron Norrie in the final.
Nadal then competed at the Indian Wells Masters and reached the final with wins over Nick Kyrgios and Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. However, a rib stress fracture prevented him from performing at his best against Taylor Fritz in the title clash, which he lost in straight sets.
After missing the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open, the Mallorcan competed at the Madrid Open, where he lost to Alcaraz in the quarterfinals. He followed this up with a last-16 exit at the hands of Denis Shapovalov at the Italian Open.
During the defeat to Shapovalov, the Spaniard felt a flare-up of his long-standing foot injury, which raised concerns over his chances at the French Open. However, Nadal recovered in time, aided by pain-killing medication, to get past the likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev to win his 14th Roland Garros title.
14-time #RolandGarros champion @RafaelNadal becomes 3rd man to earn 4 Top-10 wins at a Grand Slam event.
Nadal joins @RogerFederer at 2017 @AustralianOpen and Mats Wilander at 1982 Roland Garros. Spaniard beat No. 9 Auger-Aliassime, No. 1 Djokovic, No. 3 Zverev and No. 8 Ruud.
The 36-year-old then competed at Wimbledon and reached the semifinals before withdrawing due to an abdominal injury, ending his chances of completing a Calendar Slam.
However, Rafael Nadal is still in contention to end the season with three Majors, a feat he last achieved in 2010. That year, the Spaniard was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open after retiring against Andy Murray. However, he recovered to win the French Open, Wimbledon and a maiden US Open title.
Nadal
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Rafael Nadal eyes fifth US Open title
Rafael Nadal, who will be aiming to win the final Major of the year for the fifth time, should be among the favorites to win the 2022 US Open.
Even if Novak Djokovic does not compete in New York, the Spaniard's job won't be easy with the likes of reigning champion Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud and Matteo Berrettini all in contention.
That said, given how Nadal has performed this season, he stands a fair chance of winning the US Open.