Loading
“Still for me, yeah, [he’s] one of the greatest players of all time. Yeah, I mean, this is obviously not a nice thing for everyone, for him especially. But don’t question his legacy because of this.”
Zverev is on the top half of the men’s draw, alongside Djokovic, and any move which forced the Serbian out of Melbourne will reshape tournament expectations.
Either Nadal or Zverev could end up in a semi-final against Djokovic. For the 20-time major winner Nadal, it’s hard to get a proper feel on where he’s at. His ATP 250 tournament win in Melbourne last week was ideal, but he also had COVID-19 last month.
A left-foot injury ended his season before the US Open.
Nadal was unsure what the demands of grand slam tennis – and five-set matches – would mean.
“I can’t tell you a clear or accurate answer because I didn’t play best-of-five since Roland Garros,” Nadal said.
“I only played three matches in the last six months.
“I just want to go day by day. Of course, I [am] going to keep trying my best to improve. Practice helps. [I’ve been] practicing here with the guys, and play three matches last week, let’s see how the things start in the Australian Open.
“Every day I spend on court, I think it’s positive.
Loading
“Every match that I am able to win, it’s very important for my confidence, it’s important for my physical performance, and you never know what can happen later.”
Nadal knows he’s in the latter stages of his career. Thus, his natural mode is gratitude as he weighs up immediate expectations.
“When you’re coming back from injuries and from a period of time that you are not going on the tour, you need to accept that the things [are] not going to be perfect,” Nadal said.
“That’s the main thing for me – accept that you are moving sometimes a little bit slower, sometimes you are going to miss, sometimes things are not coming that quick.
“You need to think more about how to play, about shots, about technical stuff.
“But [it] is about time. I know that. You need to forgive yourself the mistakes and be humble enough to accept the process, accept that sometimes things not going to go that way [you want].
“Sport change[s] quickly. What today looks very difficult may be in a couple of days the perception, the personal perception, the perception of everyone, change a lot.”
Djokovic the favourite, if he starts: Zverev backs his chances at Australian Open
Source: Philippines Alive
