Rafael Nadal is no stranger to injury problems, having only recently overcome a hip issue which has plagued him for months.
In Madrid, the Spaniard looked as fit as we have seen him in a long time, making for a positive feeling ahead of his return to Rome and Roland Garros.
And, ironically enough, his newfound fitness has coincided with the absence of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz from the latest draw, with the two youngsters both nursing their own issues.
Already ruled out of the Rome Open, it will be a race against time to see if either of them can return in time for the next Grand Slam.
Rafael Nadal on Jannik Sinner’s injury problems
Speaking to the press ahead of this week’s Rome Open, Nadal was forthright in his analysis of the tournament.
Assessing his chances in a competition that has been severely weakened through various injuries, one reporter asked him specifically for his thoughts on the absence of Jannik Sinner from his home Masters 1000 event.
Naturally, the Spaniard was sad, but he did attest that there would be future chances to put such misery aside given his youth.
He noted: ‘Things happen. You don’t have to tell me about injuries, that I missed a lot of important, very important tournaments in my career because of the injuries. You cannot complain about that. You accept what’s going on. You keep going.
‘You get injured, you have to recover well.
‘They are young. They are going to have plenty of times to play in Rome and have a lot of success here. No drama.
‘Tournament will survive even without Carlos and Jannik that are super important players for any event, any tournament today.
‘Especially for Italy, to not have Jannik playing here after all what he represents today in this country, I think it’s terrible news. Even for me as a spectator, as a colleague of him, I feel so sad for him because he deserve to play here.’
Rafael Nadal has a wide-open run at the Rome Open
For once, after so many years of hardships, Nadal actually seems to have caught a break.
And whilst it is one born of others’ misfortune, the 37-year-old will certainly take such an opportunity.
After all, two of the top three players in the world have already been ruled out of Rome, with the number four player in Daniil Medvedev having retired from his last tournament through injury.
This is a draw laden with physical ailments, whilst he has rebuilt his body back to the requisite level it seems.
Should he bypass Zizou Bergs, and then manage to defeat the big-serving Hubert Hurkacz, then he will be well on his way to a deep run in this Masters 1000 event, taking advantage of the weakened draw.
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