"This year is decisive for Rafael Nadal's future," said former star

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Former tennis player Alex Corretja spoke in an interview for El Larguero, and explained the situation of Spanish legend Rafael Nadal, highlighting how 2023 is the decisive year for the 22-time Grand Slam champion. Corretja said: "Rafa's real goal is to prepare as well as possible for clay tournaments, I don't think he will risk playing the Masters 1000 on American hard courts.

The last few months have been difficult for him, but we must all not forget what he did last year. The victory in Melbourne 2022 was a miracle, without forgetting the triumph in Paris despite constant physical problems. This year is key to the continuation of his career.

If Rafa realizes that he has too many physical problems and that he is therefore unable to compete for a Grand Slam, then he will seriously consider his future. Nadal always pushes his body to the limit and in order for him to fight to win he has to be at 100%.

I understand his frustration, the problems he has had have affected the hip, an area I would say quite delicate. "

Rafael Nadal has a bad start in 2023

There were great expectations for his start to the season, but Rafael Nadal's 2023 Australian Open was far from positive.

The Majorcan champion, winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, not only failed to defend the title won twelve months ago, slipped behind in the standings but above all suffered an injury with a second-degree lesion to the iliopsoas muscle, the yet another injury that has characterized the last few months.

Now Rafa could be out for about two months even if it must be said that the Iberian tennis player has signed up for the Entry List of the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai, scheduled for February 27th. So everyone, Rafa in the first place, wants to better evaluate the conditions of the Spanish champion.

However, barring sensational twists, Nadal will skip the American 1000m and work directly with a specific preparation for clay. Here, in a few months, Roland Garros will take place, which remains the great goal of this 2023 for the Spaniard.