Rafael Nadal is not one for living in the past. Stay calm when you win, stay calm when you lose: such has been the Spaniard’s mantra. Nadal has been the very embodiment of the famous Kipling quote about meeting with triumph and disaster and treating both just the same. Given that he has amassed 22 grand slam titles, more than any other man in history, it is an approach that seems to work.
So as Nadal prepares to open his defence of the Australian Open title against Britain’s Jack Draper on Monday, he will not seek inspiration from last year’s Miracle of Melbourne, when he completed his return from a lengthy injury hiatus with an epic comeback from two sets to love down against Daniil Medvedev. Yet neither will he be discouraged by a run of six defeats in his past seven matches, a sequence that has raised questions about the extent of his recovery from the abdominal tear that forced him to withdraw from last year’s Wimbledon’s semi-final, and which recurred before the US Open.
“Sport goes fast,” said Nadal. “What happened last year is already past. But in sports, especially in a sport like tennis, people remember the victories, no, at the end? People are going to remember that today I have 22 grand slams, not that I lost another 50.
“What happened last year is going to stay in my heart and my memory forever. One of the most emotional victories of my tennis career, without a doubt. A lot of emotions coming back from a long injury. The love of the people, the atmosphere we lived here on Rod Laver Arena in that final, have been unforgettable for me.
“Of course, we can talk about things that happened last year, all the situations that I had faced. But the real thing is I have been losing more than usual. That’s the truth. I need to live with it and just fight for the victories, no?”
It is not the first time Nadal has been here. In 2016, the Spaniard also arrived at Melbourne Park on a poor run of form to find himself pitted against a dangerous fellow southpaw. For Fernando Verdasco then, read Draper now. Unlike Verdasco, who was 32 when he handed Nadal one of only two first-round defeats he has suffered at the majors, the 21-year-old Draper also has youth on his side. And while he may lack the experience of Verdasco, who was a former top-10 player and Australian Open semi-finalist when he felled Nadal, Draper will at least be fortified by the memory of a victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime at last year’s US Open, not to mention this week’s semi-final run in Adelaide. Nadal acknowledges that he is vulnerable.
“Without a doubt,” said the Spaniard, who began the year with United Cup defeats to Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur. “I have been losing more than usual, so that’s part of the business. I think I am humble enough to accept that situation and just work with what I have today. I need to build again all this momentum, I need to build again this confidence with myself with victories.”
If he is to reach a seventh final at Melbourne Park, Nadal will potentially need to navigate a route past Frances Tiafoe, his conqueror at Flushing Meadows last September, as well as Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who defeated him in the quarter-finals two years ago. It is a tough draw, but Nadal – who goes into a grand slam as a father for the first time, following the birth of his son last October – is confident that he is making progress.
“My personal momentum is not bad,” said Nadal. “I am good and happy, practising well. Then I need to win a couple of matches. I hope that can happen here.
“I can go here on Monday and lose, without a doubt, and [it is] not going to be the end of the world. Going to be a tough moment, of course, but I’m going to accept it, the result doesn’t matter the result.
“I have been better and better every single week. I feel faster in the legs. I feel [I’m] playing better, with more confidence. The last three weeks of preparation here have been very positive from my point of view. I feel ready, honestly.”
Given the form of Novak Djokovic, seeded fourth but widely regarded as the title favourite, Nadal will need to be ready. Djokovic, who will equal his arch-rival’s grand slam tally should he win a record-extending 10th crown in Melbourne, has been the outstanding force in the men’s game since bouncing back from last year’s deportation saga to win half a dozen titles, including Wimbledon and the ATP Finals.
Last week’s victory in Adelaide, where Djokovic recovered from championship point down against Sebastian Korda to draw level with Nadal on 92 career titles, marked the perfect preparation for a renewed assault on the tournament he has made his own. The Serb can also draw comfort from the warmth of his reception so far, both in Adelaide and during a sell-out practice session against Nick Kyrgios on Friday night.
“I was very emotional, honestly, coming into the court,” said Djokovic, who will open his challenge against Spain’s Roberto Carballés Baena on Tuesday. “The reception that I received, I didn’t know how that was going to go like after events of last year. I’m very grateful for the energy and reception, love and support, I got.”
Carballés Baena, a dirtballer ranked 75th who has reached the second round just once in seven previous attempts, is unlikely to detain Djokovic unduly. Tougher tests may lay ahead, however, starting with a possible last-16 clash with Roberto Bautista Agut, the Spaniard against whom Djokovic was defaulted at the US Open in 2020, and who beat the former world No 1 to win a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The quarter-finals could throw up a rerun of the Wimbledon final against Kyrgios, although first the combustible Australian would need to find a way past Holger Rune, the Danish teenager who consigned Djokovic to a shock defeat in the Paris Masters final, and Andrey Rublev, the fifth seed. Rublev, who has looked out of sorts so far this season, faces Dominic Thiem, the former US Open champion, in round one.
The only potential blot on the horizon for Djokovic is the niggly hamstring that required treatment during his semi-final win over Medvedev in Adelaide, and which forced him to cut short a practice session with the Russian earlier this week. Djokovic conceded that he has had to manage the problem, but said he hoped to minimise its impact
“I’ve been struggling with that a bit, to be honest, the last seven days,” said the Serb, who would reclaim the No 1 ranking from the injured Carlos Alcaraz were he to win the title. “But it’s hopefully not the major concern. So far I’ve been able to train, compete and play points, practice sets. So that’s a positive sign.
“Obviously, I’m being a bit more cautious. I’m not going full out on the training sessions, conserving the energy for next week. Hopefully it won’t cause an issue for me.”
Can anyone prevent Djokovic from reaching a 10th final? Casper Ruud, seeded second, will certainly not want for motivation, having lost out in last year’s French and US Open finals. The unassuming Norwegian, who also made the title round at the ATP Finals only to be thwarted by Djokovic, is one of two other players who can oust Alcaraz as No 1 by winning the title. To do so, he must either win the title or reach the final, where only a loss to Tsitsipas – the third contender for top spot – would deny him. As ever, Ruud is taking nothing for granted.
“I’m trying to stay humble and know that I’m not going to reach two grand slam finals every year for the rest of my career most likely,” said Ruud, who could meet Matteo Berrettini in the last 16 if the Italian survives a tough opener against five-time finalist Andy Murray.
“I would love to do it and I’m going to give it a try, but the odds are not in favour of that happening.”
Among the other contenders in the bottom quarter, eighth seed Taylor Fritz may be the most likely to upset the applecart. Fritz reached his first grand slam quarter-final last year at Wimbledon before going on to crack the top 10 and make the last four at the ATP Finals in Turin, where he was beaten by Ruud in a final set tiebreak in the group stage. The Californian has shown he can perform well at Melbourne Park – he extended Djokovic to a fifth set in 2020 and took Tsitsipas the distance last year – and will be in no mood to miss out again should a projected last-eight meeting materialise.
The smart money, though, is on a 60th instalment of the Nadal-Djokovic rivalry. You have to go back to 2018 to find the last time that both men started a slam without winning it. Roger Federer won the title that year – and those are big shoes to fill.