Home » Rafael Nadal can continue to play, suggests a renowned coach

Prior to making a comeback in Montreal the following week, Rafael Nadal is putting in a lot of effort to heal from an abdominal ailment. Rafa played just two games after Washington last year due to a foot issue. Inflicting a foot injury on Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of Roland Garros, Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon and the Olympics.

After receiving the Washington ATP 500 wild card, the Spaniard stunned everyone by returning to training in July. Rafa made his debut in the US capital, and he enjoyed a terrific few days visiting the city and taking in the good energy and support of the locals.

When he made his debut against Jack Sock in the second round, Rafa put his foot through its paces. The Spaniard played for more than three hours before winning the set tiebreaker. In the third round, Nadal faced off against Lloyd Harris and lost 6-4 1-6 6-4 in two hours and ten minutes.

The Spaniard did not play poorly, but despite falling behind in crucial situations, it was not enough to send him home. Harris made 16 aces while preventing four of six break attempts. To conclude his career earlier than planned, Nadal faced three break chances and had a poor service game in sets one and three.

Rafa made 11 unforced errors and 26 winners. In contrast, Lloyd played aggressive tennis and performed flawlessly when it meant the most, recording 38 victories and 21 mistakes. In the seventh game of the match, the South African broke Nadal at game point 15, and in game 10, she fended off a break attempt with a forehand winner to win the match 6-4.

Nadal leveled him out after a fresh start in the second set and earned breaks in games four and six to win it 6-1 and gain momentum. With a strong serve at 2-2 in the third set, Lloyd prevented two break attempts. At 5-4, the South African made a comeback and produced a flawless lob winner to steal Nadal‘s serve and win the match, giving him his biggest career victory.

Paul Annacone is laudatory Nadal, Rafa

Rafael Nadal‘s versatility has been commended by renowned coach and commentator Paul Annacone, who also called his year-to-date performance a “wonderful story.” And most crucially, Annacone added, “He exudes such confidence.

“Considering those figures, a champion on hardcourts 25 times. People’s complaints that “he is one-dimensional” and “he was just so dominant on the clay” make conversation tiresome. This guy is a multi-instrumentalist.”