Tennis experts as they are Paul Annacone and Lindsay Daverport they spoke in Sportskeeda of Rafael Nadal’s chances for the next Australian Open 2021. The Spaniard has the opportunity to break Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slams, and Annacone believes that Nadal can do it in case he faces another in the final tennis player other than Novak Djokovic.
In these last days, many affirmed that Rafael Nadal’s options for this Australian Open were smaller compared to previous years, seeing the great barrage of promising young people who are breaking into the circuit. On this, Paul Annacone recognizes that there are very few tennis players who surpass the Balearic Islands: “To be honest, I think Rafa is a little worse than Novak on hard court and Roger when the hard court on which he plays is very fast. But He is superior to the rest of the players. If Nadal plays against Novak in the final of the tournament, I would not bet on him, but if he played against someone else he would. I think the most important thing for the Spaniard is to get through the first week of competition in relative comfort. “
Annacone recognizes that Rafael Nadal is perfect for playing as many games as possible to gain competitive pace. That’s the difference compared to the rest of the Grand Slams: “Many wonder why Nadal hasn’t won Australia more times. But we can’t underestimate him. He has managed to win the US Open four times and once in Melbourne. I think It is very good for Rafa to play as many matches as possible to start preparing for a tournament of this magnitude. When the year begins in Australia, he comes off a long break and has a couple of matches in a preparatory tournament or in the ATP Cup, but in the rest of the Grand Slams it is true that he usually prepares by playing tournaments. This method seems to work quite well for him. “
Are track conditions important in Australia?
Finally, Lindsay Davenport also spoke about this, stating that the existing conditions in Australia perhaps benefit Djokovic a little more: “I wonder why the conditions in Australia are so important, since that surface has changed a lot in the years. last ten or twelve years. Some years it is faster, other years it is slower … Despite this, it seems that when the final of the tournament comes and Nadal has to face Novak, his body stops. Djokovic is the best player on hard court and I think that motivates him a lot when it comes to jumping onto the court. It seems that Nadal has a bit of trouble finding a solution to this, “they concluded.
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