Rafael Nadal returns to Tennis action at Brisbane International after almost a gap of a year as Tennis fans around the world anxiously awaits his return to the ATP World Tour. The Spaniard missed the entire season last season after suffering a hip flexor injury he sustained in the second round of the Australian Open last January. World no. 3 Daniil Medvedev believes the 22-time Grand Slam champion will be a threat to his opponents even as he returns from a long-term injury.
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On December 7, the Spaniard took to social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to announce his return and also suggested that this could be his last year. There have been questions about Nadal’s fitness since his return announcement, but World No. 3 Medvedev believes that Nadal will continue to pose a ‘great challenge’.
“It’s just that all the seasons that he played he wins a lot of matches and doesn’t lose many. It’s very tough to beat him,” Medvedev said.
“Actually, with Rafa maybe I even had even less success than with Novak in a way. But we had some tight matches where I felt like I could win and maybe he got the edge in the end. So, for me it’s going to be a great challenge if I have to face him. I don’t know at the moment his shape, no one knows, and how he’s going to handle. But from what I saw, he seems to be doing good and that’s great for tennis,” he added.
It is not a surprise that Medvedev finds Nadal a very tough opponent. Out of his five major final appearances, Medvedev has faced Nadal twice, at the 2019 U.S. Open and the 2022 Australian Open. Medvedev has lost both matches, trailing 1-5 in head-to-head against Nadal.
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