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Coach Patrick Mouratoglou says he is not surprised by the number of injuries Rafael Nadal has suffered throughout his career, as Serena Williams’ former coach believes the Spaniard “had a A physically painful game.” In the first half of the 2022 season, Nadal suffered from foot and rib injuries, but still won consecutive championships at the Australian Open and French Open.
Following two consecutive Grand Slam victories, Nadal’s Grand Slam tally rises to 22, while Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are tied for second with 20 Grand Slams. But then, Nadal’s condition worsened, and the Spaniard hasn’t played many matches since.
At the same time, the 36-year-old Djokovic is still very healthy and has reached the finals of four Grand Slams this year. In addition, Djokovic has won four Grand Slams since Wimbledon in 2022, and he is now the all-time Grand Slam leader. Nadal, who injured his psoas muscle at the Australian Open and underwent surgery in June, hopes to be healthy and play his final season in 2024.
Mouratoglou: Nadal had a physically painful match
“I think I said that when he has 12 or 13 Grand Slams, he’ll probably be the record holder for the number of Grand Slams. He’s already dominant. I think at that point, he’s better than Roger. Or Rafa better.”
Of course, Rafa was always better on clay, but he was better on all other surfaces. Of course, I lost a lot of games to them. But overall, I feel like he’s won more and is capable of winning more and consistently. He’s still young and I know he’s in really good physical shape to last longer than Rafa, for example, who has had a lot of injuries and the game is physically painful.
Novak’s game is not physically painful. He has an incredible diet and training. To me, he is the perfect tennis player. That’s why,” Mouratoglou said in “Coach’s Eyes” at the Tennis Grand Slam, via Sportskeeda.