Rafael Nadal is set to mark his long-awaited return after a year at the Brisbane International tournament to prepare for the Australian Open, and top coach, Patrick Mouratoglou claimed that there are two reasons behind the Spaniard’s willingness to play in the Grand Slam in Australia.
Mouratoglou, who has coached the likes of Serena Williams, Simona Halep, and others, stated that Nadal thinks he feels good otherwise he wouldn’t have returned to play and perform at a place where the competition would be highest.
"The thing that is difficult with him is that we don't know how he feels in his body, only he knows. And this will play a big part in what he will be able to achieve in 2024,” said Mouratoglou on Eurosport.
"The fact that he wants to play the Australian Open, there are two explanations. The first one is maybe he thinks it's his last year and he wants to play.
"But the second can be if he feels good, because if he wouldn't feel that good, he would probably go skip it and go straight to clay, probably in South America and get ready for Roland-Garros, which will be for sure the most important tournament of his season, because that's the Grand Slam he has the best chance to win.”
According to Mouratoglou, Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam winner, cannot be ruled out and will always be dangerous if he feels good. He was also eager to see how he would compete with the young guns.
"If he feels good physically, he will always be dangerous. It's going to be interesting because now the young guys have progressed a lot while he was out of the courts. So I'm really looking forward to seeing those young guys play against him and see how we can do against them with such a long absence also."
It must be noted that in an interview on a local show in September, Nadal stated that he would not be returning with hopes of winning any major title.
"Yes, I would like to play again and be competitive again, but the dream is not to come back and win Roland Garros or win Australia, so that people don't get confused, right?" Nadal said in September.
