The return of Rafa Nadal: What can we expect this time?

Injuries are something that Rafael Nadal is no stranger to. The Spaniard, who is rated amongst the best players of all time, and arguably the greatest clay court player ever, has taken injury after injury in his stride, almost as a by-product of his intensely physical game, which in turn has allowed him to achieve so much success in his relatively short career. With the recent news that he will return to action at the end of this year in Abu Dhabi, this marks yet another comeback for ‘The Mallorcan Marauder’ as he seeks to prove his doubters wrong yet again. The question though is, will it be that easy this time?

Nadal may neither have the magical touch nor a game which is most pleasing to the eye, but what sets him apart from so many others is his dedication, resolve and 150% commitment to the game. Nothing else can explain his continued and consistent success in the face of relentless injuries, some of which could have proved to be career-ending. Most people had predicted his downfall after tendinitis in both his knees forced him to miss a good part of the year in 2009, making him miss his Wimbledon defence in addition to an early exit from his favourite tournament of the year, the French Open. However, Nadal returned with a vengeance, dominating the tennis world next year as he captured three out of the four grand slams, culminating in his maiden US Open triumph which also made him the youngest man to win the career Grand Slam.

Why the situation is similar this time

The situation is pretty similar this time around as well. Nadal had just won his seventh French Open title, defeating his nemesis Novak Djokovic in a pulsating final and was easily one of the pre-tournament favourites going into Wimbledon. Out of all the people who could have defeated him at Wimbledon, I’m pretty sure he had not counted World No. 100 Lukas Rosol as one of them. The Czech, however, had other ideas as he came out all guns blazing in their second round encounter, sending Nadal out of the tournament. As time went by, the world got to know that the injury bug had bitten Nadal yet again, this time the more serious ‘Hoffa syndrome’ in his left knee, ruling him out of the rest of the year as he was forced to skip the defence of his Olympic gold medal as well as the US Open and the year-end championships. The 11-time Grand Slam winner, who has now fallen to No.4 in the rankings, will be desperate to make his mark again and prove himself to be a real contender for titles, just as he set out to prove in 2010.

Why it’s different

Nadal was 23 at the start of 2010, he is 26 now. As mentioned earlier, his body has taken injury after injury and perhaps the ‘Hoffa syndrome’ injury was simply the most he could take, a passionate plea from his overworked knees to stop the ongoing damage. Nadal also has to deal with a bunch of younger, upcoming players: the likes of Juan Martin Del Potro and Milos Raonic, players who will be keen to take advantage of his rustiness when he returns. In 2010, Novak Djokovic was being touted as a ‘one-slam wonder’, a player who didn’t have the stamina and willpower to go all the way in big tournaments, against the big players. Andy Murray was just another Tim Henman, and was thought of as someone not having the temperament to ever win a Grand Slam title. Now though, Djokovic has won five Grand Slam titles and is undoubtedly the best player in the world at the moment while Murray has finally broken through and won his first Slam title at the US Open last year to cap off a wonderful year in which he also won an Olympic gold medal for his country. The two are hungry to build on their successful 2012 and have figured out how to play Nadal. And of course, there’s the great Roger Federer. Federer managed to win his seventh Wimbledon last year and really has nothing to lose as he seeks to extend his glorious career and win more and more titles. One blot, if you can call it that, on Federer’s CV is his negative record against his biggest rival Nadal. He could well see this as the perfect opportunity to reverse that, posing yet another challenge for the World No.4.

We could write, as I have written, hundreds of articles on what could happen once Nadal comes back. The bigger picture though, is that this is a wonderful thing for tennis. Last season saw four different slam winners in each of the four events and 2013 could be the most interesting tennis season in a decade. The return of Nadal only adds to the anticipation tennis fans across the globe feel as the new season draws closer and adds immense value to the game. We can only wait and watch as the season unfolds to see how Nadal does, as he launches yet another comeback in his glittering career.