"Capacity for suffering, he will not lack" - Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni declares he will be defending French Open title if body heals in time
Rafael Nadal's uncle and former long-term coach Toni Nadal can only hope to see his nephew make yet another famous comeback from injury and be ready to defend his French Open title in May. However, he is highly confident that the Spanish tennis legend will leave no stone unturned in attempting to do so.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion bowed out of the 2023 Australian Open with a second-round loss, during which a hip injury severely impacted his ability to play his best tennis. In the aftermath of his exit, Nadal revealed that he had suffered a tear in his hip muscle, which is set to keep him out for at least 6-8 weeks.
Uncle Toni, who was himself part of many storied injury comebacks from his nephew during their 16-year-long association on the pro tour, hopes to see the Spanish great "fight to be at Roland Garros" and bid for a 15th French Open title. While he cannot predict whether Nadal's body will respond well to recovery, the 61-year-old is highly certain about his "capacity for suffering" to make it happen.
"My hope is now focused on seeing him, once again, raising his head and fighting to be at Roland Garros defending his options," Toni Nadal wrote in a column for El Pais.
"Let's hope that his body responds because the commitment and the capacity for suffering, I think he will not lack."
The defending Australian Open champion bid an emotional goodbye to the crowd at Rod Laver Arena after his loss to Mackenzie Mcdonald on Wednesday and received a standing ovation from spectators. Toni Nadal was touched to see the "great ovation" from fans in Australia.
"I remain prudent and, certainly, pleased to witness the great ovation that the Australian public dedicated to Rafael when he said goodbye this Wednesday at the Rod Laver Arena," the Spanish coach expressed.
"It's not a sacrifice" - Rafael Nadal on continuing to endure against injuries and prolong tennis career
Speaking shortly after his 2023 Australian Open exit, Rafael Nadal himself shed light on the 'suffering' aspect of his comeback and recovery from injuries time and again over the years. The Spanish legend clarified that he does not feel as if he makes a big "sacrifice" in enduring against pain and playing tennis despite the many injury issues he suffers from, as he likes what he does and enjoys a deep passion for tennis.
"It's not that complicated to understand, no? When you like do one thing, at the end, sacrifices always make sense, because the 'sacrifice' word is not like this," the Spaniard said in a press conference at the Australian Open. "When you do things that you like to do, at the end of the day, it's not a sacrifice. You are doing the things that you want to do."
"Sacrifice is when you are doing things that you don't want to do, you know. And that was not my case."
Having said that, the World No. 2 admitted to feeling tired and frustrated by constant injury troubles and having to go through the repeated process of recovering from injuries.
"But say that, of course it's tiring and frustrating to be a lot of part of my tennis career on recovering process and trying to fight against all this stuff all the time," he added.
A recovery period of 6-8 weeks for his latest hip injury means that the Spaniard will certainly miss the Dubai Duty Free Championships next month and is also likely to miss the Indian Wells Masters in early March.