Spain can hope again: Toni Nadal, long-time coach of his nephew Rafael, assumes that the 17-time major winner will compete against Germany in the Davis Cup when his former protégé has fully recovered.
The signs were almost not wrong to interpret: Had the Spanish Tennis Federation had justified hopes that Rafael Nadal would play Germany in the Davis Cup quarter-finals, the venue for the match of 6. till 8. April would have been Mallorca, home of the ten-time French Open champion. The Spaniards, however, chose Valencia, and in the German camp, too, it was more likely to be a team without Rafael Nadal.
That, however, was the situation before the Mallorcan decided to give up the two hard court tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami due to his persistent injuries. And before the rehabilitation at home seems to be very smooth. If you believe the words of Toni Nadal, the long-time coach of his nephew and still the man with the shortest line to Rafael, then he will consider competing against Germany.
“I talked to him and his goal is to play,” Uncle Toni is quoted in Spanish media. But when Rafael’s fully recovered, I’m sure he’ll play.”
By the way, the long-time coach, who is now primarily in charge of Rafael Nadal’s academy, left no doubt as to who is his favourite for the title at the next Grand Slam tournament in Paris: “There is no reason to think that everything will go badly. It gets harder every year, that’s true, but I think Rafael will be the number one favorite in Roland Garros again this year.”