Rafael Nadal sets vital Wimbledon target as Spaniard expects complicated two weeks

Rafa Nadal reacts to winning French Open at Roland-Garros

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Rafael Nadal has set himself a ‘vital’ target for the upcoming tournament at Wimbledon in two weeks time – stating that he must start to build rhythm and confidence in the opening matches before taking on the world’s toughest opponents in the later rounds.

Nadal heads into the tournament having won both the Australian and French Opens so far in 2022, aiming to pick up his third Grand Slam of the year. Having not featured at Wimbledon since 2019, the Spanish hero will take some time to adjust to the surface as he looks to edge even further ahead of Novak Djokovic in his bid to comfortably remain the most successful player of all time.

And the star has set himself a target of building rhythm and confidence if he is to win his third title SW19 of his career. “I haven’t played on grass for three years, you have to be patient with the progress,” Nadal said.

“It’s true that playing well at Roland Garros gives you confidence, but grass is a very difficult surface. Any round is complicated. The start of the tournament will be vital for me because, if you manage to progress, later the opponents are more difficult, but then you have more confidence because you’ve found your rhythm on grass.”

Nadal has been plagued by injury woes over the course of the calendar year, but has still come out of the two Grand Slam tournaments victorious. And he felt that he was ‘happy’ with his current status, enough so to potentially win his third of the year and leave just the US Open to complete the Calendar Slam.

“I’m happy. I haven’t limped for a week and the evolution of training is progressing,” said the Spaniard. “From day to day the pain has been different and that’s progress. I have to wait a little.

“My intention is to try and play Wimbledon and this week has told me there is a chance.” His last win in SW19 came in 2010, meaning the Spaniard will have to end a 12-year hiatus if he is to become successful in London.

He faces a warm-up session at Hurlingham over the course of the next week, which will act as an indication as to how he will fare on grass.

Elsewhere, Nadal announced on Saturday that he is set to become a father in an Instagram post.

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