Rafael Nadal has been busy training at his tennis academy in Mallorca ahead of the US Open after having shaken off the injury that ended his run at Wimbledon.
Nadal, who won the Australian Open and French Open earlier in the year to add to his astonishing tally of Grand Slam singles titles, had to withdraw ahead of his Wimbledon semi-final with Nick Kyrgios after suffering one injury too many.
Despite that disappointment for Nadal with his great rival, Novak Djokovic, able to move to within one major title of his tally after securing his seventh title at the All England Club, it has been a remarkable year for the Spaniard.
The 36-year-old is now looking to win a third major title this season at Flushing Meadows – one that would take his tally to 23 Grand Slam singles crowns – and he has demonstrated his progress in recovering from this latest injury.
Photos have been posted on his Rafa Nadal Academy social media accounts of him training hard in front of fans on the hard courts at the facility that are as close to possible to those in New York.
“Back to work!” was the simple caption for the photos with Nadal showing that he is on course to make his latest comeback from injury at the final Grand Slam of the season, which gets underway on August 29.
Eurosport’s Alex Corretja said he felt his compatriot made “a smart decision” to withdraw from the semi-final clash with Kyrgios at SW19 considering the extent of the injury.
“It’s a pity, yes, but honestly, it was expected,” Corretja said. “I know that he fought so hard to beat Taylor Fritz, but he tried and he realised that he had no chance to compete at the highest level, to beat Kyrgios.
“For him to play on two days in these circumstances, it was going to be very difficult. I know it’s difficult for him to make the decision, but I think it’s a smart decision because if you can’t play at your top level, it’s going to be almost impossible to win the Slam.
“I believe the most important thing for him now is to recover and take time off because if you get a tough injury, like three or four months again, away from the tournaments it will be devastating for his mind and for his goals for the year.
“We always support Rafa – especially now – and it’s a shame. If he knew that he wouldn’t be able to play the semi-final, I’m sure he would have retired. But he didn’t, and he thought that he might have a chance.”
