22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal showed his class after losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic, calling the Canadian an “incredible player.” On Friday, Auger-Aliassime defeated Nadal at the Hurlingham Club 7-6 (6), 4-6, 10-3.
Nadal now hopes to be fully fit for Wimbledon as he is set to compete at The All England Club for the first time since 2019. “The objective is achieved. It was great to play against an incredible player like Felix. Today he was a little better than me, but it was a positive few days.
I haven’t played on this surface for three years, so every day is an opportunity and a chance. I hope to be one hundred percent for the start of the tournament.” As expected, Nadal did not play any grass-court ATP events before Wimbledon.
In his place, Nadal opted to play two exhibition matches at the Hurlingham Club. On Wednesday, Nadal defeated Stan Wawrinka in straight sets. Nadal was 1-1 at the Hurlingham Club, but winning or losing was not the most important thing for him this week.
For Nadal, it was about getting some matches and getting the feel and touch of him on the grass. “Honestly, it’s good for me to play a couple of matches before the competition starts at Wimbledon. I used to play at Queen’s a long time ago.
Now I’m older, I can’t play so many matches. It’s perfect for me to play a couple of matches here before Wimbledon starts. That helps me feel at least some competition before Wimbledon,” Nadal said. On Friday, Nadal learned that his Wimbledon first-round opponent would be Francisco Cerúndolo.
Rafa Nadal is ready for Wimbledon
“I can walk normal most of the days. That’s for me the main issue. When I wake up, I don’t have this pain that I was having for the last year and a half. The overall feelings are positive, no, because I am in a positive way in terms of pain, and that’s the main thing”, Rafael Nadal said when asked of his injury.
The two-time Wimbledon champion spoke about the challenge of playing on grass after such a long time, highlighting the importance of ‘recency.’ “I don’t know how I get there really, it’s hard to predict.
It’s probably the hardest tournament to predict. It’s a tricky surface where you need to spend days on it. I haven’t played anything for three years, this makes it extra tricky,” Nadal said.
