Absent from the circuit since his elimination in the second round of the Australian Open in January, the Mallorcan came out of the top 10 on Monday. A first for 18 years.
The end of a golden era. After spending 6,538 days in a row in the top 10 of the ATP rankings, the equivalent of 18 years, Rafael Nadal officially left the world top 10 on Monday March 20, now pointing to 13th place. A fall in the ranking which is explained by its distance from the courts, and therefore an excessive loss of points. Eliminated in the second round of the Australian Open last January due to a hip injury, the Spaniard has not been seen on a court since.
A possible return to Monte-Carlo
But at 36, the man with 22 Grand Slam titles does not intend to give up his arms, provided his body allows him to continue. “Obviously it’s tiring and frustrating to have spent so much of my career in recovery, trying to come back. I’ve accepted it pretty well and put up with it pretty well. But the last seven months were still a complicated period”, he confided after his defeat in Melbourne, pending a precise diagnosis.
His recovery from “six to eight weeks” However, it is coming to an end as the season on clay, his favorite surface, approaches. If for the moment the Spaniard has not confirmed anything, he could make his big comeback during the Monte-Carlo tournament (from April 8 to 16) and which traditionally launches the season on ochre.
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