Rafael Nadal: French Open Is Spaniard’s Only Shot at a 2013 Grand Slam

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: March 1, 2013

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The French Open is Rafael Nadal's only legitimate opportunity to win a Grand Slam in 2013.

While Nadal has basically owned the clay court since 2005, the combination of health concerns and the outstanding play of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray present cause for concern.

He first sat out the 2013 Australian Open, as noted in this Facebook post by Nadal in late December.

Regardless of how much talent any athlete possesses, it's reasonable to return to the game a bit rusty after having been out as long as Nadal.

Well, that wasn't the case with Nadal as he made the final in Chile and then won in Brazil.

Nadal is also making another strong run in the Mexican Open.



Each of those, however, are clay surface tournaments.

Winning on grass and hard courts still needs to be done at a more consistent rate. Unfortunately, this is where Nadal's opponents enter the equation—as well as a concern with health.

First, per Matt Cronin of TennisReports.net:



Secondly, Courtney Nguyen of Sports Illustrated writes:

Nadal’s withdrawal from Miami would come as no major surprise. He’s never won that tournament and hasn’t played particularly well there.

Indian Wells is a different matter. Nadal is a two-time champion, and he enjoys the quiet and peaceful environment in California. A tournament spokesperson told SI.com that Nadal’s camp has not contacted Indian Wells about withdrawing and that its understanding is that he intends to play.

If Nadal competes in each, it's certainly a step for him to silence any doubters regarding health and performance on other surfaces. The risk is obviously competing in tournament after tournament, which could potentially impact Nadal on clay as the year progresses.

Factor his aggressive style and full-force effort and that only increases the odds of further in...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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