But where will Rafael Nadal stop in 2022? On the night of Saturday to Sunday, in Acapulco the Spaniard offered himself a 3rd trophy in three tournaments this season. In two rounds, the Majorcan dominated the Briton Cameron Norrie, 12th player in the world (6-4, 6-4) to afford his 91st title on the ATP circuit. As in 2020, he will not have given up any set in Mexico, where he has now won four times (2005, 2013, and therefore 2020 and 2022).
At 35, Nadal is making the best start to the year of his immense career and will gain a place in the standings on Monday, becoming world number 4 at the expense of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The figures for Nadal version 2022 are eloquent. On the Pacific coast, the Taureau de Manacor won its 15th victory in a row this year. After the ATP 250 in Melbourne, a record 21st Grand Slam title snatched at the Australian Open after a Homeric final against Daniil Medvedev, the new world number 1, – whom he beat in the semis in Acapulco – and a demonstration in Mexico, “Rafa” seems on cloud nine. His last defeat dates back to August 5, 2021, against South African Lloyd Harris in the 3rd round of the Washington tournament. He then withdrew for the rest of the year due to a left foot injury. The start of 153 days without playing an official match. His return to the highest level is therefore as unprecedented as it is unexpected. Few would have bet on a return to grace of the Spaniard so quickly, so high.
“For me, the most important thing today is to have won a tournament that has prestige in the world of tennis where five of the six best players in the world were involved at the start. It’s amazing how things can change overnight, practically not being able to train for the fantastic times I’m going through right now. I maintained a good attitude and a good capacity for work during all this time, it is certain, but I would never have imagined to be in this position. I’m really happy and enjoying every moment. Maybe I’m more aware of the value of those victories now than when I was an 18-year-old kid,” he said after his victory in Acapulco.
Admittedly, Novak Djokovic, not vaccinated against Covid-19, is kept away from a certain number of tournaments. But all the same, the performance has allure. The former world number 1 had only had three longest winning streaks, on hard courts, since the start of his career. In 2017 (16 successes in a row), 2019 (17) and, above all, between 2012 and 2013, where he had chained 30 victories in a row, in Miami, Indian Wells, Montreal, Cincinnati, at the US Open and in Beijing . However, this start to the 2022 season has something unique: Nadal has never won three trophies so early in a season. His previous record: March 17 (in 2013). Objective, now, to continue its miraculous series in Indian Wells (in the United States, from March 7 to 20).
