'Rafael Nadal had a complicated year', says top coach

• Tennis News
• Rafael Nadal

At 36 years old, and despite living with constant physical problems that hinder his progress, Rafael Nadal continues undeterred breaking records. The Spaniard ─ who, together with his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, recently rewrote history ─ remains firm at the top of world tennis, as evidenced by his return to number 2 in the ATP ranking.

Nadal who, thanks to this (umpteenth) achievement, officially becomes the longest player in the Top-2 of the Open Era. To be exact, the count corresponds to 580 weeks, broken down into 209 as number 1 in the world and 371 as number 2.

A result that places him well ahead of Roger Federer (528 weeks) and Novak Djokovic (520 weeks), his two biggest rivals. It was on July 25, 2005 when the Mallorcan reached the Top-2 for the first time in his career and he would not go down again until August 17, 2009.

Do not forget that Rafael Nadal achieved a memorable second goal with his new Top-2. Indeed, the Manacor champion also became the first player to make at least one appearance in this kind of restricted "elite" for 17 years.

With his recent return to second place in the ATP rankings, the Spaniard thus returns to a position that he has not held since May 2021 and becomes the only tennis player to hold that position for so many years. Again, Nadal has surpassed the Federer of long ago, who built a 15-year gap between 2003 and 2018, while Djokovic has increased his number every year since 2010, when he first reached the top of the world rankings.

Coming back to today, it's time for Rafael Nadal to perfect his preparation for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Toni Nadal opens up on Rafa

Making a first assessment of the 2022 season of his nephew Rafael Nadal, although the latter must still participate in two tournaments by the end of the season (Paris-Bercy and the Masters), Toni Nadal estimated in an interview granted to Marca that the year had been complicated despite the two Grand Slam titles won by the Mallorcan.

“I spoke to him today (Tuesday) and he is fine now. It is true that he had a complicated year. This season could have been extraordinary, but it was marred by the constant problems he faced. The results were good as he won Australia and Roland Garros, but you leave with a bitter taste in your mouth.

At Wimbledon he was unable to play a semi-final despite playing well and being an obvious title contender, he also had problems in New York. What an athlete wants above all is to be well and play well, and also to win. My nephew won, but he had more problems than you can bear sometimes."