Rafael Nadal has arrived in Melbourne. Novak Djokovic may not be too far behind.
Things are gearing up for the 2022 tennis season — which begins on Saturday with the ATP Cup — and two of the tour’s three 20-time Grand Slam champions look like they are ready to go.
Nadal’s status for the Australian Open and other stops on the Australian summer swing had been in doubt because of both a foot injury and a Covid-19 case. The Spaniard lost both of his matches at the Abu Dhabi exhibition earlier this month upon his return from a 2021 foot issue, after which he tested positive for the virus. Now, though, Nadal has reportedly recovered from Covid and has already arrived in Melbourne.
“Don’t tell anyone…here I am,” the 35-year-old posted on Twitter, adding some emojis for emphasis.
Nadal is scheduled to play the Melbourne Summer Set, a 250-point tournament at Melbourne Park, next week. That should give Nadal — and all other participants in the 28-man field — perfect preparation for the Australian Open, which is obviously played at the same location. Other players currently on that 250 entry list are Nick Kyrgios, Reilly Opelka, Grigor Dimitrov, Lloyd Harris, David Goffin, and Botic Van de Zandschulp. Nadal’s last match of 2021 was a loss to Harris at the Washington, D.C. event this past summer before he withdrew from the U.S. Open and all other remaining tournaments.
Djokovic may not be playing the Melbourne 250 and he also withdrew from Serbia’s ATP Cup team, but it looks like he is preparing for the Aussie Open. The world No. 1, who has triumphed in Rod Laver Arena a record nine times, was seen practicing in Marbella, Spain on Friday with the same balls that will be used in Melbourne.
If Djokovic does end up pulling out of the Australian Open because of Covid-19 health and safety protocols, he will join an absentee list that already includes Roger Federer (knee), Dominic Thiem (wrist), and Stan Wawrinka (knee). On the women’s side, Serena Williams remains sidelined and her bid for a 24th Grand Slam singles title will be on hold until at least the French Open.
good to see
A video of Novax practising with AO balls taken through a hedge(!)is hardly conclusive proof he is going to play there.
# Noentry for Novax.
Hahaha… No worries, there will be enough vaccinated players bringing covid to Aussies…
It could be a case of last man standing after more and more test positive
Really! Catching covid in Abu Dhabi is beginning to look like a smart move. Who knew?
I don’t know why players and entourage don’t use ffp2 or 3 masks. Health experts here have been saying they will protect against omicron while cloth masks won’t.
It’s such a simple change to make…
Simple in theory maybe – but these masks depend on a good seal around the nose and mouth – not so easy in practise
Yes that’s true in general but the players are multi millionaires.. surely they can find some of good quality…
Vamos Rafa….but Rublev will win the AO!
Good to see Carlos Moya there with Rafa. He seems to have recovered from horrible symptoms very quickly..
Latest news from djoko amy?
Djoko Fans have already given RG title to djoko this year
He’s still practising behind his hedge sanju!
Clearly he is waiting to see if he gets this dubious medical exemption…
The more confident about RG Djoko and his fans are the better. I told nny on another thread that, provided he is healthy, I believe he(Rafa) is going to win slams and that is me being honest. Rafa said he was coming back to win titles at the highest level because otherwise he wouldn’t be playing.
Let Djokovic and his fans write Rafa off. That’s when Rafa is most dangerous. Zverev said he, Med and Djokovic would win all the big titles this year. These arrogant silly statements which discount Rafa are absolutely fine by me. We Rafa fans have been through this plenty of times before.
Absolutely, never underestimate Rafa when he is on the comeback trail.
That hedge could be in Belgrade (hedging his bets? )
Haha!
A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush..!😀
But seriously, is it really a good look for the world number one to be discussed this way..? He is getting a lot of negative press all around the world..
Its all mind games .
It reminds me of the time when Agassi played Wimby and everyone wondered what outlandish outfit he would wear in breach of the rules- then he appeared in regulation white .
Never overestimate him either (or anyone else for that matter)
Theres a sense of the conspiracy theory here.
It reminds me of the time when Agassi played Wimby for the first time and everyone thought he would wear a garish outfit in breach of the rules- and he turned up in regulation white.
Id bet Novax wont want to miss this chance of another Slam .
I don’t think Nadal or Djokovic will win the AO. I think Zverev and Sinner are the favourites.
I also think Nadal is a 3/1 chance to win RG, at this point. I certainly wouldn’t be backing him even at that price unless I saw considerable improvement.
Why is Sinner a fave above Med and Djoko? The bookies don’t agree with you..
Sinner only just lost to Medvedev in the dead rubber of the ATP Finals. I don’t think there’s much separating them and there is more upside with Sinner right now. Sinner has more upside than Djokovic also. In actual fact, they are heading in opposite directions.
I disagree with the bookies all the time and that’s not necessarily a bad sign.
Covid was not only a temporary setback but an ongoing psychological hurdle for Nadal, someone that prides himself on being in peak physical condition, so it will be interesting to see how he responds to all of this.
Nadal has accumulated a long list of factors that are working against him. The only thing that can give him a chance at redemption is the opportunity created by a Djokovic withdrawal.
Sorry, “the only thing that can improve his chances”
Nadal is 30/1 is Djokovic plays, 12/1 if he doesn’t.
Djokovic is a 3/1 chance.
Sinner is a 6/1 chance to win this years AO.
Zverev is 4/1
Medvedev is 4/1
Djokovic is a 3-3.5 chance depending on the draw.
Out of the others, I think Tommy Paul, Murray and Karatsev could surprise.