The eternal return of Nadal

Reef Nadal he’s back. Definitely. His return was one of the great unknowns that the Australian Open on its eve. Not even his victory in the previous tournament of Melbourne served as a reference. It was necessary to see him in a Grand Slam, with five-set matches, against important rivals… Nadal himself needed more challenges to take his temperature. His clashes before Karen Khachanov, with two brilliant first sets and the ability to react in the fourth, and Adrian Mannarino, with an epic tiebreaker in the opening round, have already given him a good measure of his point of form. Rafael is ready for new challenges. We’ll see how far. At the moment he has gotten into the quarterfinals, the same round in which he succumbed in the last two editions. In part it will depend on his physique, which has responded well so far. “The main thing is to be healthy enough”, insists the Balearic. Day to day. He is not recovered from his ills, he really never will be. What it is about is knowing how to live with pain, as he has done throughout his career.

Parallel to his improvement, the australian box has also been opening. On the one hand, due to the absence of Novak Djokovic. You don’t have to put an asterisk on the results of the tournament because of the expulsion of the number one. Nadal was not in the last two majors either: Wimbledon y US Open. The world is full of asterisks. In quarters he will face Denis Shapovalov, who has separated one of the ogres, Alexander Zverev. The 22-year-old Canadian, in full progression, now challenges the Spanish. It will not be easy, although in theory it should be easier than Zverev. The winner will meet in the semifinals with Gael Monfils or Matteo Berrettini. The story of the milkmaid clarifies the way, but care must be taken not to break the pitcher. “A month and a half ago I would not have dreamed of being here,” recalls Nadal. Always in an eternal return.