'I can easily imagine Rafael Nadal deciding not to go to the US Open' - Nicolas Mahut
There's less than a month to go for the American hardcourt season to begin, which will be followed by the European clay swing. The former is still under a cloud due to the stringent quarantine rules, but the clay season looks well set to go ahead. And the men’s tournament at both the US Open and Roland Garros has the same defending champion - Rafael Nadal.
Should the Spaniard successfully defend both the Slams, he will go past his long-time rival Roger Federer's record tally of 20 Majors, However, playing the US Open and the Madrid Masters - where Nadal has confirmed participation - back-to-back would present a big physical challenge for Nadal.
That exact thought has also been echoed by French tennis player Nicolas Mahut.
Rafael Nadal is likely to skip the US Open, believes Nicolas Mahut
Nicolas Mahut is well aware of the demands of the sport, having himself played over 1,000 professional matches. He has competed in both singles and doubles at all the Grand Slams, which is a strenuous task in itself.
Mahut claims to have an idea about the thought process that Rafael Nadal will go through before taking a decision. And the Frenchman thinks it is quite likely that Nadal will skip the US Open in order to prepare for the clay swing.
“Me, I can easily imagine Rafael Nadal deciding not to go to the US Open, and to resume on clay with his priority objective of winning Roland-Garros again and playing at his home in Madrid,” Mahut said in an interview with Eurosport.
The Madrid Masters is due to begin on the day after the US Open ends. In such a scenario, it is difficult to imagine Rafael Nadal playing both tournaments prior to his French Open campaign as that would add unnecessary pressure on his body.
The 19-time Grand Slam champion has confirmed that he will be playing the Madrid Masters, and he has also been spotted practicing on clay lately. That suggests Nadal has made a decision about his schedule already.
Mahut explained that not just Rafael Nadal, but most of the top players would be weighing the pros and cons of playing back-to-back Slams.
“That seems to me very difficult to chain the matches in 5 sets, to be efficient and to prepare," the Frenchman said. "The calendar means that the best are asking the question.”
Rafael Nadal has never been a big fan of hardcourt tennis
Hardcourts have often presented Rafael Nadal with a host of physical problems. The Spaniard has even publicly acknowledged in the past that tennis on hard surfaces can be dangerous for the body.
“We are the only sport that regularly plays on such a hard surface. This one can be dangerous for the body," Nadal had said as recently as in 2019.
The risk of injury is even higher now because of the time that Nadal has been away from tennis due to the pandemic. Even a slight niggle could lead to a grave injury due to his relatively worse conditioning, which in turn could force him out of the French Open where he’s the overwhelming favorite to win.
All this would be at the back of Rafael Nadal’s head when he announces his decision regarding his participation at this year’s US Open.