Rafael Nadal doesn’t have sky-high expectations ahead of the 2024 Australian Open, according to Boris Becker, who previewed his chances.
Nadal is coming back to tennis one full year after he last played. The last time we saw him play was at the 2023 Australian Open, and the next time is going to be in Brisbane fairly soon.
It’s going to be a very interesting comeback because, nobody, including Nadal, doesn’t know what to really expect from it. He’s been working hard and practicing for a while; however, playing real matches and practice matches is not the same thing.
Nadal has played down any kind of expectations a few times now, and it’s deliberate, according to former player Boris Becker who talked about it in the ‘Das Gelbe vom Ball’ podcast.
I don’t think his expectations for Melbourne are sky-high right now: if he wins a few matches there, good for him. He will then concentrate on the clay-court tournaments early on. He’ll definitely play Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and maybe even Rome in order to be 100 per cent fit again in Paris.
The prediction is not outrageous and makes sense when you take into account everything we know of Nadal. Roland Garros is likely the only Grand Slam he will be competitive in, so focusing on that part of the year makes sense.
It also gives him enough time to really get back into the swing of things.
His goal has to be Roland Garros, and then the Olympics, both of which will be played in Paris on clay. But he has to play first: he will only gain match fitness and match practice by playing in matches. So, he has to suffer a little so that he gets better in March, April, until he can play his best game in May.
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