'Rafael Nadal will enter Wimbledon mentally and physically fresh,' says coach Carlos Moya
World No. 2 Rafael Nadal has skipped all the grass-court tournaments in the lead-up to the 2017 Wimbledon, causing analysts to question his chances at the third Grand Slam of the year. However, coach Carlos Moya feels the Spaniard will be "mentally and physically fresh" entering The Championships which begin July 3.
After storming to a record 10th French Open championship without dropping a set, Nadal took time off and visited Ibiza for a holiday before returning home to Mallorca.
A few days ago, Nadal posted an Instagram picture of him cruising around on a Gocycle G3, an electric bicycle. Nadal has also been training against local Spanish players on the grass courts in Mallorca, giving coach Moya enough reaosn to be optimistic.
Rafael Nadal is 'listening to his body,' says coach Moya
On his decision to skip the Queen's Club Championships, an ATP World Tour 500 series tournament, Moya told El Espanol that the 31-year-old Nadal "is listening to his body" and practising on the grass-courts in Spain instead of exerting himself ahead of Wimbledon 2017.
"One of the important factors that led us to skip Queen's is that there are grass-courts here (in Mallorca)," said Moya, who won the 1998 French Open during his career. "I would have suggested him to do the same thing anyway, but training on Mallorca courts makes everything easier. The clay-court season was tiring, especially mentally. Rafa is listening to his body, even though he wants to play. He has realised that health is the first thing, and he will go to Wimbledon being mentally and physically fresh."
In recent years, Nadal has had a horrific run at the All-England Tennis Club. After beating Tomas Berdych for his second Wimbledon crown in 2010, Nadal lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2011 final before suffering second, first, fourth and second round exits through 2012 to 2015. Last year, Nadal was forced to pull out of The Championships due to a persistent wrist injury. The Spaniard is playing his best tennis since 2014, entering the 2017 Wimbledon as a legitimate threat to the likes of Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
As of writing, odds makers have tipped Roger Federer as the outright favourite to win the 2017 Wimbledon championship. Andy Murray, the reigning champion, has the second best odds, followed by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Federer hasn't won at the hallowed turf of the All-England Tennis Club since 2012 when he beat Murray to capture his 17th Grand Slam title.
