Former player and tennis coach Heinz Gunthardt has hailed Rafael Nadal’s victory at 2022 Australian Open as one of the greatest achievements in the history of sport.
The Swiss Billie Jean King Cup captain narrated the example of Nadal to make a point that how rapidly older players can experience a decline. Winning his second title at the Melbourne Park, Nadal recorded a miraculous comeback to edge Daniil Medvedev as he came from 2 sets down to win the five set final. It was the second-largest major final in history behind 2012 Australian Open championship match in which the Spaniard’s eternal rival Djokovic got better of him in the grueling five-set classic.
Nadal trailed by two sets to love and 2,3 (0-40) on serve in the third set when he pulled a Houdini to save the break point and also his 21st major title in an unbelievable fashion. This was 37-year-old’s first slam since 2020 season as he was on sidelines because of the foot issue that kept him out of the most of the second half in 2021.
Talking to Tennis Magazin, Gunthardt illustrated the example of Nadal to emphasize how quickly the older tennis stars are let down by their bodies.
“In the end, it often happens very quickly. If you look at Nadal winning the Australian Open last year, it was one of the greatest achievements in sports history,” said the Swiss.
“But achieving something like that requires additional energy, which as an older player you can no longer replace after a certain day. Experience shows that it happens really quickly. You maintain and maintain the level – and suddenly it doesn’t work anymore.
“You slow down, there are always twenty or thirty centimetres missing. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s worlds apart. It makes a difference whether I can accelerate the ball myself or just hobble around on the defensive end.”
Nadal earned his most recent major at the 2022 Roland Garros following a straight-set win over Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final. The 37-year-old had to take multiple painkillers to numb the two nerves his left foot in order to play his matches. The Mallorcan after winning the final told the press that his “foot was asleep” throughout the tourney.
The former World #1 has since then struggled with various injury issues and among them is a hip muscle tear he incurred in the R2 of Australian Open earlier this season. Nadal had no choice but to undergo a surgery in June and it is still not clear whether he has fully recovered or not. However, Nadal is currently training to make a return to action in 2024 which he has declared will be his final season on the tour.
Gunthardt has worked with 22-time Singles GS champion Steffi Graff from 1992 until her retirement in 1999 and also coached former WTA #1, Ana Ivanovic. During his career the Swiss veteran won five ATP singles titles while also being a two-time doubles major titlist.