Friday, March 29

The Serbian leaves Nadal as the only candidate for 21 majors



The departure practically at the last minute of Novak Djokovic from the Australian Open after losing his last legal battle for his determination not to get vaccinated leaves Rafel Nadal as the only tennis player capable of reaching the 21 majors in the first Grand Slam of the season, which It began this past morning with the Manacorí’s debut against the American Marcos Giron. If he won the title in Melbourne, right now very complicated due to his lack of shooting -he has only played three games after his long absence due to injury- he would break the tie with the Serb and the Swiss Roger Federer in the number of greats, now twenty for each .

Nadal arrives “with less expectations” than other times, as he said at a press conference. However, the 35-year-old Mallorcan, who has only won once in Australia, in 2009, should never be ruled out, even if it seems that he is facing a tournament far from his best form.

Nadal, who “deeply feels what happened with Djokovic, “although he knew the rules”, does not exactly have a path of roses in his attempt to reach the final and the title: the Russian Daniil Medvedev (2) and the German Alexander Zverev ( 3), possibly the two main candidates, cross paths.

“All the first rounds are complicated and more so in the situation I find myself in,” he commented before facing Giron this past morning, alluding to his problems in the last stretch of last year when he had to undergo surgery to solve his problems. in his left foot, as well as overcoming his positive for covid-19 in the second half of December.

Also Read  The disappearance of invertebrates anticipates the sixth mass extinction

Nadal is presented with the opportunity to become the second player in the Open Era and the fourth in history to win each of the titles that make up the Grand Slam twice, and thus equal Djokovic after winning Roland Garros last year.

With the absence of Djokovic, the main favorite to lift the title is the Russian Medvedev. Champion in the last US Open with victory over the Balkan, he will take number one from him if he is able to get the second big of his career in Melbourne.

The Muscovite, who finished the year with the Davis Cup title with Russia, will debut this Tuesday against the Swiss Henri Laaksonen and could meet his compatriot Andrey Rublev in a hypothetical quarterfinal, as well as the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals.

The German Alexander Zverev will also start as one of the main options to lift the crown after closing an impeccable 2021 with titles in Acapulco, Vienna, Madrid, Cincinnati and a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The Hamburg tennis player will break through against his compatriot Daniel Altmaier on Monday on the opening day and could face Nadal in the quarterfinals on a side of the draw that has been left unbalanced after the top of the draw replaced Djokovic with Italian lucky loser Stefano Caruso.

The list of big favorites is completed by the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (4), the Russian Andrey Rublev (5), the Italian Matteo Berrettini (7) and the Norwegian Casper Ruud (8).

Nadal has been in Australia since the beginning of the year and, after winning the Melbourne tournament, he has not stopped training.

Also Read  As the tide of populism recedes, is it taking our civil liberties with it? | Daniel Trilling

Nadal and Munar debut, on the first day

Rafel Nadal made his debut this past morning against the American Marcos Giron on the central court Rod Laver Arena. The Mallorcan, who stressed at a press conference that he is happy to be back on the circuit, added that he hopes to feel better “as he progresses in the competition. I need games,” he remarked. Also making his debut today, starting at nine in the morning, Jaume Munar, who will debut against the Russian Aslan Karatsev (18) on the 1573 Arena court. Paula Badosa (8), champion in Sydney, will debut against the local Ajla Tomljanovic, whom she recently beat in the tournament played in Sydney.


www.informacion.es

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *