Rafael Nadal announced on Friday that he will be making his much-awaited comeback on the ATP Tour at the Brisbane International 2024 competition in Australia. The competition is all set to return too for the first time since 2019 with 250 points on offer for the winner. The tournament has seen many big names win in the past such as Roger Federer, Nick Kyrgios, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt amongst others.
The Brisbane International will be played in the New Year’s Week, from 31 December 2023 to 7 January 2024, being a reasonable warmup for the Australian Open in Melbourne. With Rafael Nadal confirming what many tennis fans have been waiting to hear, the Spaniard is set to travel to the Middle East soon for training in similar, summer-like conditions in the Rafa Nadal Academy in Kuwait while overseeing its operations too. The real question remains – Has Nadal picked the right competition to mark his comeback?
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There is one school of thought that even a 50% fit Rafael Nadal will always be more comfortable playing on clay and challenging for titles on it. Outdoor hard courts, especially in Australia, can be extremely tough on the body. And considering the hot, humid conditions in the Australian summer, Nadal will need to outdo himself again to even compete, let alone win tournaments like he did in the past.
On the other hand, Rafael Nadal is one player who cannot be put down for too long and sit out when he has been medically declared fit to play tennis, assuming for a duration of 12 months at least. The internal competitor in him is ready and with nothing to lose in this ‘Last Dance’, Nadal will want to make amends for unfortunately having to limp out of last year’s Australian Open Round 2 match.
In the Brisbane International 2024, Rafael Nadal will have some serious competition as the likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Holger Rune, Andy Murray and Ben Shelton have confirmed their participation in it. Nadal and Murray have had a famous rivalry over the years, knowing each other since they were teens. The two multiple-time Grand Slam winners, who might be now way past their prime, are still expected to drive up interest, ticket sales and viewership of the tournament. The duo last clashed way back in 2016 in Madrid, where Murray beat Nadal on his beloved clay court.
Another blockbuster clash that could light up the tournament would be if Rafael Nadal takes on the new American sensation, Ben Shelton. Both of them are left-handers and it is no secret that Nadal is a role model for Shelton. It will surely be a battle of generations and the result of this possible clash might also reveal whether the Spaniard would be more convinced to pass on the torch to a budding player like Shelton, who is just aged 20.
Can Rafael Nadal 2024 be reminiscent of Andre Agassi 1998?
In fact, Rafael Nadal could take inspiration from Andre Agassi. Andre Agassi had dropped out of the top 140 of the ATP rankings by the end of 1997, having endured the worst season of his entire career. The American legend began his 1998 season by participating in ATP 250 and Challenger tournaments to gradually work his way back to the top. Having completed a conditioning camp for two weeks, both the plans worked for Agassi.
Remarkably, he made it to the semifinals of the 1998 Adelaide International competition alongside Australia’s Todd Woodbridge. Eventually, it was considered a huge achievement that Andre Agassi qualified for the Round of 16 at the Australian Open. Those two results paved the way for him to have a year that extended his year by 6 years as he went on to gradually challenge the likes of rivals, Pete Sampras and Pat Rafter again.
Rafael Nadal has dropped out of the top 600 of the ATP rankings, making his task tougher than Andre Agassi had in 1998. The rankings system also worked differently back then. Nadal might have to play a top-ranked player early on itself in each tournament he plays. But knowing the Spaniard’s mentality and his past reputation, one can only rule him out at their own peril like Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Rick Macci recently did.
