Back to old strength? Nadal's comeback

Rafael Nadal is making his comeback at the invitation tournament in Abu Dhabi after the 35-year-old Mallorcan had to take a break for more than four months due to a complicated foot injury. The last time Nadal was on the court was at the ATP tournament in Washington at the beginning of August. After a defeat against the South African Lloyd Harris, he ended his season prematurely - the pain in his left foot was too severe.

No Wimbledon, no Olympics, no US Open, no Laver Cup, no ATP Finals: the list of highlights that Nadal missed this year is long. Only two tournament wins are recorded in his statistics for the past season, in Barcelona and Rome on his favorite surface, clay. At the Australian Open it was already over in the quarter-finals, at the French Open, which is always the most important event of the year for Nadal, there was a bitter defeat in the semi-finals against the Serbian Novak Djokovic. Even then, Nadal didn't seem fit. What's up? Now, after a break of more than three months, Nadal wants to know it again. The Spaniard is the first of the prominent injured trio with Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem to report back. “I’m happy to be here again and to be on the court,” said Nadal in Abu Dhabi. He had previously trained at his own Rafa Nadal Academy in Kuwait.

The first images that went around the world on social media from Nadal's training sessions look positive. Nadal moves well and appears well-trained as always. But whether the foot really holds will be shown for the first time this Friday, when Nadal starts in Abu Dhabi after a bye against Andy Murray, who clearly won the British duel against Dan Evans 6:3, 6: 2 won.

Rafael Nadal hasn't had enough yet. © APA/afp / FRANCK FIFE

Nadal himself dampened the euphoria surrounding himself. “To be honest, my expectations are very low. It was a really difficult time for me,” Nadal said on Thursday. “I just hope that things continue to get better day by day and that I can play again at a level that I’m used to.” Nadal still wants to achieve great things With his return to tournament play, Nadal is already a big step further than his long-time rival Federer. The 40-year-old Swiss is still a long way from making a comeback; Federer will probably not be expected until the grass season in the summer. “At my age, a few months don’t matter,” said Federer, for whom all that matters is a fitting farewell after a brilliant career.

Nadal, on the other hand, still has real sporting goals and wants to compete for titles again at the big tournaments. He has now also realized that it will probably be Djokovic who will ultimately have won the most Grand Slam titles of the big three. But Nadal doesn't want to leave the field to the Serbian world number one without a fight. Which is why he worked hard for his return. “When I'm healthy, I still have the fire in me to fight for the biggest goals,” said Nadal.

After the tournament in Abu Dhabi, he will head to Australia early, where he will take part in a preparation tournament for the Australian Open (January 3th to 17th) in Melbourne from January 30rd. In Melbourne at the latest we will see whether Nadal can find his way back to his old strength.

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Back to old strength? Nadal's comeback

“He is back!” In bold letters, the organizers of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship announce the news that tennis fans all over the world have been waiting so longingly for.

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