Alcaraz and Nadal: Tennis’ Hopes for the 2022 Season

Alcaraz and Nadal at the 2022 Madrid Masters 1,000 (Reuters/Juan Medina)

Tennis faces the final stretch of the season, with the winners of the four Grand Slams of the year completely defined after the US Open: Novak Djokovic in up to three cases (Australia, Roland Garros and US Open) and Carlos Alcaraz (Wimbledon ) on the men’s circuit and Aryna Sabalenka (Australia), Iga Swiatek (Roland Garros), Marketa Vondrousova (Wimbledon) and Coco Gauff (US Open) on the women’s circuit. Although there are still some tournaments of some importance to be played this year, the truth is that racquet sport is already starting to think about 2024.

A course in which it is expected that one of the best tennis players of all time can return to the ATP: Rafa Nadal. The Spaniard, who has not competed since January, wants to say goodbye to the sport of racket not only by competing, but also by winning. Of course, since his last game he has had a very serious competitor, who had been showing signs of success and who has ended up completely consolidating himself in the elite during these months: Alcaraz.

Alcaraz in the US Open semifinals (Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

Two players of the stature of the Balearic Islands and the Murcian opt for great things at all times, as long as their physique respects them. So much so that very favorable forecasts for both are beginning to emerge when considering the hypothetical winners of the next majors. In this case, that of ESPN.

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The American sports giant ventures to designate Alcaraz as the future champion of the Australian Open. Betting on him as the winner “may be a little surprising,” because “he missed the 2023 tournament due to an injury and his best result in his two previous appearances is the third round.” However, journalist D’Arcy Maine sees him winning the title in Melbourne because, “as champion of the US Open in 2022 and Indian Wells earlier this year,” “he is clearly dangerous on the hard court.” With the addition that “his disappointing defeat of him in the semifinals in New York last week will only motivate him even more.”

As for Nadal, it is easy to find out in which Grand Slam he is placed as a possible winner: Roland Garros. “He has been out of competition since January with a serious hip injury, and has said he believes 2024 will be his last season on tour, so it is probably not practical to expect Nadal, who will turn 38 during the French Open, win the title at Roland Garros,” they concede on ESPN. Of course, “we are talking about Rafael Nadal, 14-time winner of the tournament, and no one wants this title more than him.” “Even if he is not at 100%, he will leave absolutely everything he has on the court in Paris, and, as king of the land, that could be enough,” the article states.

Nadal in his last match to date (Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports)

The rest of the pool is completed by Coco Gauff in the Australian women’s team, Iga Swiatek in the Roland Garros team, Djokovic and Ons Jabeur in Wimbledon and Ben Shelton and Sabalenka in the US Open. We will have to wait a little to know if these predictions come true. If this were the case, the news would be unbeatable for Spanish tennis.

2023-09-13 11:29:00
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