Indian Wells | Nadal and his ordeal in 2021: “After Roland-Garros, I couldn’t walk for two weeks”

The start of the year Reef Nadal He is being immaculate, signing fifteen consecutive victories and remaining undefeated with three titles added to his record, the ATP 250 Melbourne, the Australian Open and Acapulco. However, 2021 was not nearly as productive for the Spaniard, who was greatly diminished physically by his chronic injury to his left foot. After falling in the semifinals of Roland-Garros against Novak Djokovic, the Spaniard has recognized that he was “two weeks without being able to walk” and that he rushed to return to the circuit in Washington, “the two months of training before that were terrible”.

What’s more, Nadal He assured that he could not “neither run nor work his footwork” throughout the season, to finally be out for five months until his winning return in 2022, surprising the tennis world with his level of play. All this has helped the morale of a full Nadal, “winning in Australia was very important”, he explained to the ATP, “being competitive and enjoying the competition was what excited me the most, being able to play in front of the fans again” .

For it, Nadal has continued to improve aspects of his game to be able to continue being very competitive at 35 years old. “My serve has worked well, which is very important at the moment. I have been brave enough to play with the right determination when it was necessary”, continued the Spaniard. “I am working hard to keep improving, but I am happy with the level of tennis and the intensity that I show on the court.”

After his victory in Acapulco, Nadal arrives in Indian Wells with the aim of adding his fourth title in the Californian desert (2007, 2009 and 2013). The Spaniard arrived with time to acclimatize as well as possible, “I always enjoy being here, it is one of my favorite tournaments”, explained a Nadal who is in fourth place in the ranking world, but as the best ranked in the Race“for me it is unexpected to be in this situation, so I enjoy it every day”.