"Only Rafael Nadal can do that" - Alex Corretja on how the 22-time Slam champion keeps recovering quickly from injury setbacks
Rafael Nadal has struggled with a chronic foot injury throughout his career, and he aggravated it during his round-of-16 clash against Denis Shapovalov at the Italian Open in May. Nadal's injury woes led to questions about whether he would be fit enough for the French Open.
However, the 36-year-old once again proved his mettle at Phillippe-Chartier as he defeated Casper Ruud in the final to win his 14th Roland Garros title.
R A F A 🌱 R A F A 🌱
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Nadal had to receive injections and medications throughout Roland-Garros to numb the pain in his foot. With the Spaniard stating that he wouldn't take such extreme measures to play at Wimbledon, there were doubts about his participation in the event.
But Nadal's treatment in Barcelona reportedly went well, and he is all set to compete at Wimbledon. The 36-year-old arrived in London on Monday and has been practicing at SW19 ever since.
Speaking to Eurosport, Alex Corretja talked about how Nadal's strength is to take things one match at a time and that he will look to do the same at SW19.
"I feel like 2022 for Rafa, it’s a miracle, since the very beginning of the year," Corretja said. "After winning the first tournament, then the first Slam, he then got hurt again and he didn’t have that much time to prepare for Roland-Garros."
"He then ended up winning, and one week later, or two weeks later, I thought, 'Okay, maybe he needs time to rest, he needs time to recover.' Again, now, he is ready to go and try to play at Wimbledon," Corretja added. "I feel like only Rafa can do that, honestly, because all the ups and downs physically that he had he overcame them. It shows how humble he is, and how much desire he has to keep on going."
Corretja added that he doesn't think winning the Calendar Slam will be on Nadal's mind. Nadal has won the first two Majors of the year (Australian Open and Roland Garros) for the first time in his career, and is theoretically on course to become just the second man in the Open Era to bag all four in a single season.
"I don’t think he feels like winning the Calendar Slam; it’s not on his mind," Corretja said. "He is just going there to practise from the first day, get ready, and probably have the best chance he can for the first round. This is his only goal. Then he will go little by little. This is why Rafa deals very well with these kinds of situations because he knows where he is and he just goes for it, just being realistic."
A look back at Rafael Nadal's record at Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal's foot injury and recovery have meant that the Spaniard has been unable to play any ATP grasscourt events in the lead-up to Wimbledon. But the veteran will participate in the Hurlingham exhibition this week, and will look to bring all his grasscourt experience and acumen to Wimbledon next week.
🗣 @RafaelNadal has The Championships in his sights...
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Rafael Nadal has won two Wimbledon titles in his glorious career. The southpaw won a thrilling five-setter against his rival Roger Federer in the 2008 final, which is widely regarded as one of the best tennis matches of all time.
Nadal claimed his second title at SW19 when he bested Tomas Berdych in straight sets in 2010.
The Spaniard hasn't reached a final at Wimbledon since 2011 though. He did make the semis in both 2018 and 2019, but ended up losing to Djokovic and Federer respectively.