"Olympic gold in tennis & swimming?" "Michael Phelps watch out, Rafael Nadal is coming after your records" - Spaniard's underwater swim impresses fans
Rafael Nadal's skillful demonstration of his swimming prowess has greatly impressed tennis fans.
After a nearly year-long absence from the tour, Nadal made his long-awaited return at the Brisbane International. Despite promising wins over Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler in the early rounds, the Spaniard's comeback was derailed after he suffered a muscle tear in his hip during his quarterfinal defeat to Jordan Thompson. He was then forced to pull out of the Australian Open.
However, the 22-time Grand Slam champion is set to make his return at the Qatar Open, which commences on February 19. He has been intensifying his training in preparation for his comeback, frequently sharing glimpses of his regimen on social media.
The 37-year-old recently offered a peek into his swimming session at his academy in Mallorca, sharing a clip of himself swimming an entire lap underwater, only coming up for air on his way back.
Tennis fans marveled at the Spaniard's impressive skills and lung capacity, with one fan even contemplating the idea of him winning the Olympic gold medal in both tennis and swimming.
"Insane lung capacity," a fan commented.
"Olympic gold medal in tennis and swimming ? 🥇," another fan wrote.
Other fans, meanwhile, humorously compared the former World No. 1 to swimming legend Michael Phelps.
"Rafa Phelps or Michael Nadal? Nope, it’s just Rafa!!! 😍🏊🔥❤️💪🏽," the fan posted.
"Michael Phelps watch out Nadal is coming after your records as he can not go after Djokovic's records in tennis," another fan wrote.
Here are a few more reactions from fans:
"Surface changes are not easy" - Rafael Nadal's coach Carlos Moya reveals reason behind Spaniard's Qatar Open participation
Rafael Nadal decided to skip the Golden Swing in Latin America in favor of making his comeback at the Qatar Open, despite clay being his preferred surface.
His coach, Carlos Moya, shed light on the logistics behind this decision, highlighting the challenge of switching between different surfaces. With the 22-time Grand Slam champion taking part in the hardcourt Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami, it was deemed better for him to avoid "excessive" changes in the surface.
"Surface changes are not easy. While it is true that [clay] should be better for your joints, going from [hard] to [clay], to go back to the US and then back to [clay], we thought it was a bit excessive. That's why we chose to make this calendar, without so much change of surface," he said.
Nadal will be joined by Andy Murray, Andrey Rublev, and defending champion Daniil Medvedev at the ATP 250 event in Doha. The Spaniard has emerged victorious at the Qatar Open on one previous occasion, defeating Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2 in the 2014 final.