Rafael Nadal – Chris Evert exclusively on the Spaniard: ‘I’m surprised his body can take it’

The debate is almost as old as Rafael Nadal’s professional career: How long can the Mallorcan’s body endure the exorbitantly high tournament workload and the extremely physically demanding style of play?

Spanish orthopedist Mikel Sanchez, who once treated Nadal, stressed that the exceptional player “must learn to take care of his body in order to be able to continue like this for many years to come”. That was in 2010 – twelve (!) years ago.

In fact, Nadal had to deal with umpteen injuries as a result. From the knee to the elbow to the back – almost every part of the body was affected at times. In addition, the superstar suffers from Müller-Weiss syndrome, a degenerative bone disease that causes the scaphoid to deform over time.

And yet: Nadal is still there, has just had the best start of the season in his unique career.

Evert marvels at Nadal: “It’s grueling”

A phenomenon like the 18-time Grand Slam tournament winner Chris Evert exclusively at Eurosport explained. Because: “Rafa has to expend more energy in training and in his matches than any other top player,” said the 67-year-old.

The way the clay court king competes and trains is “grueling”. Evert even believes that the injuries of the past few years “helped him to take a break”.

The 35-year-old was forced to recover. It was the same last year. A complicated foot injury had put the veteran out of action for months, and to make matters worse, he contracted the corona virus during his comeback at an invitation tournament in Abu Dhabi in December.

“Nadal hungrier than any other athlete on this planet”

What’s impressive: Nadal came back in January stronger than ever at this early stage of the season and is still one of the top favorites at Indian Wells’ ATP Masters. After a bye at the start, the winner of the game between Sebastian Korda and Thanasi Kokkinakis awaits in round two.

“I think he changed his training a bit,” says Evert. Possibly a reason for the unprecedented run of success. The three titles in Melbourne and Acapulco surprised her from a “physical point of view, but not at all from a mental perspective,” said the tennis legend.

For one reason: “Nadal is hungrier than any other athlete on this planet – and he has a passion for tennis like no other.”