Former ATP #7 Emilio Sanchez Vicario is optimistic that Rafael Nadal will be 100% at Roland Garros and Olympics in the summer.
The 58-year-old believes Nadal has been afraid because the operation he underwent last year bothers him but feels this will change with the competition on red dirt.
Nadal has played just one tournament and three competitive matches since 2023 Australian Open when he sustained the hip injury against Mackenzie McDonald. The 20-time GS champion underwent arthroscopic surgery on his hip in June last year and had a recurring issue with the same injury during his comeback bid earlier this year (January) Brisbane.
The Spaniard was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open and has since pulled out of Doha, Indian Wells and Miami where he was hoping to make a return. He is expected to participate in the Monte Carlo Masters in April.
In an interview with EFE Sanchez Vicario offered his thoughts on the Nadal’s retirement while describing his struggle to continue has been “a battle with himself.”
“I don’t think he will leave us. I think he will play well. I think what he has is [he] a little afraid because the operation bothers him,” assessed the Spaniard.
“But if he starts competing on land he will no longer be afraid because he will start competing and if he gets in shape, I believe that at Roland Garros and the Olympic Games he will be 100 per cent at his best. If more damage is not done.
“For me, it’s more of a battle with himself, of freeing himself to play than what he has in himself. Because when he went to Australia he played well. But he played a game that hurt him a little and then he got a lot worried. But on land It’s going to hurt a lot less.”
Sanchez Vicario is a former world No 1 in men’s doubles. He is a brother of four-time women’s Grand Slam champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. The 15-time ATP titlist played between 1984 and 1998, and captained Spain’s Davis Cup team when they won the ITF event in 2008.