Rafael Nadal has two Grand Slams on the bulletin board in 2022, extending over Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the all-time rankings. The Spanish phenomenon won the Australian Open and Roland Garros, despite the pain in his foot causing him serious headaches.
Thanks to the help of Dr. Cotorro, the 36-year-old from Manacor managed to ease the pain and show up at Wimbledon in good shape. The former world number 1 played excellent tennis on the grass of Church Road, but a torn abs prevented him from playing in the semifinal against Nick Kyrgios.
Because of that injury, the Iberian arrived at the US Open in precarious conditions and was unable to go beyond the round of 16 (defeated in four sets by the host Frances Tiafoe). The season finale did not give him great satisfaction, given the premature exits from the scene in Paris-Bercy and at the ATP Finals in Turin.
In the latest edition of the podcast hosted by Craig Shapiro, Kim Clijsters gave her honest opinion on Nadal.
Clijsters praises Rafa Nadal
“I love how Rafael Nadal plays, the intensity, the battle, and the hustle. But with Novak there’s such a physical smoothness, I’ll call it, when he moves from side to side,” Kim Clijsters said during an interview on The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast.
Clijsters feels the 36-year-old Mallorcan played “the best tennis that I’ve ever seen him play” at the Australian Open. “What Rafa did this year in Australia. You know, just knowing a little bit of how he was struggling with his foot and being so close to thinking, ‘Am I actually going to get to a level I want to get back to?’ And then for him to get to a level that was, maybe, some of the best tennis that I’ve ever seen him play, I thought was incredible,” Clijsters expressed.
“Novak is like he just picks up from there, right? He goes to Wimbledon and you can see the focus,” she added. Kim Clijsters believes Novak Djokovic will be a force to reckon with at the 2023 Australian Open. “I heard that he’s (Novak Djokovic) able to play this year, in 2023 he’s going to be able to go, and I’m sure he’s going to be more motivated than ever to try and do well there again,” Kim Clijsters recently said on The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast.
“Amazing. The way that he’s able to leave a lot of the negative, the way that he’s able to put that behind him and kind of use it all in a force on the court to play better and be even more focused, I absolutely admire it,” Clijsters expressed.
