At 35 and after nearly two decades at or near the top of tennis, Rafael Nadal likens his body to 바카라an old machine.바카라 A machine that was idle for more than a month recently when the 21-time Grand Slam champion was recovering from a rib stress fracture. (More Tennis News)
After he was injured during a semifinal win over Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells in March, Nadal returned to action at the Madrid Open last week, when he was beaten by the 19-year-old Spaniard in the quarterfinals.
Nadal won his opening 20 matches of the year, which included the Australian Open title, but he said at the Italian Open on Monday that his stretch of good form means nothing now.
바카라My body is like an old machine. To put this machine on again it takes some time,바카라 Nadal said. 바카라It바카라s not the same when you (are) 19 than when you have almost 36, with all the issues that I went through in my tennis career.
바카라You need to build again the confidence on your body, on your movements, then you going to start feeling again comfortable with your tennis. It바카라s more about being confident with my movements, recover the speed, recover the way that I have to play on clay.바카라
Nadal, who turns 36 on June 3, is playing his final warmup in Rome this week before attempting to add to his record total of 13 French Open titles. The tournament at Roland Garros starts in less than two weeks.
바카라I need some time, but maybe this week can be a positive week, maybe not. Who knows?바카라 Nadal said. 바카라The only thing that is sure, I바카라m going to keep trying and I바카라m going to keep building confidence to try to be ready for next week, for in two weeks.
바카라That바카라s my goal unfortunately this year, because I didn바카라t have another chance to approach this clay-court season with all the things that I went through.바카라
Nadal, who has won the Italian Open a record 10 times, will open at the Foro Italico against either big-serving American John Isner or Argentine qualifier Francisco Cerundolo, who reached the semifinals of the Miami Open.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek is back on tour looking to extend her 23-match winning streak and defend her Rome title. Swiatek sat out last week바카라s Madrid Open because of a sore arm after winning four consecutive titles. She said she spent 바카라five or six days바카라 without picking up her racket.
바카라It바카라s pretty good to have (an) opportunity to do something like that in between tournaments, in the middle of the season,바카라 Swiatek said. 바카라I바카라m more fresh. Mentally and physically, I had time to rest.바카라 Swiatek then trained for five days at Rafael Nadal바카라s academy in Mallorca, Spain, which gave her an opportunity to visit the Nadal museum.
바카라It was inspiring,바카라 Swiatek said. 바카라Seeing numbers on Wikipedia is one thing, but seeing all the trophies, how consistent he was sometimes in some tournaments, it바카라s amazing.바카라 Swiatek, the 2020 French Open champion, routed Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0 in last year바카라s Rome final. She바카라ll open against either one of two Americans: Shelby Rogers or Alison Riske.
DJOKOVIC바카라S SECOND HOME
Five-time Italian Open champion Novak Djokovic calls Rome his 바카라second home.바카라 바카라In terms of support that I바카라ve been getting, in terms of the sensation I have every time I come back here. I think speaking a little bit of Italian helps connect with people,바카라 the top-ranked Serb said.
바카라Italian mentality is close to Serbian mentality in terms of passion, emotions. So it바카라s always a joy for me to come back.바카라 Djokovic, who lost to Nadal in last year바카라s Rome final, said his game is coming back after missing a large portion of the season because of his refusal to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Djokovic lost to Alcaraz in a third-set tiebreaker in the Madrid semifinals on Saturday. 바카라It바카라s closer to desired level every week,바카라 Djokovic said. 바카라Even after (an) almost 3 1/2-hour battle against Alcaraz, I recovered well the next day, was ready to go. That바카라s a positive and encouraging factor prior to Rome and also, of course, the big goal, which is Paris.바카라
JABEUR MANIA
Ons Jabeur바카라s Madrid Open title is still reverberating around the Middle East. 바카라The Michael Jackson of the Arab world kind of texted me,바카라 Jabeur said, referring to Lebanese singer Ragheb Alama. 바카라It바카라s a great honor for me.바카라
The seventh-ranked Tunisian, the first Arab female or male to make the top 10, also received a congratulatory message from Tunisian-Italian rapper Ghali. 바카라I love his work, his songs,바카라 Jabeur said. 바카라He was really proud. It바카라s amazing. I hope to see him here in Italy.바카라 Jabeur faces Sorana Cirstea in the first round.
