Rafael Nadal is one of the biggest gains of men's Tennis this season. Struggling with injuries over the past years, he turned things in his favor over the past few months. With some solid results on all surfaces under his belt, he went on winning his 10th French Open thus declaring an opened race to the world no. 1 status.
Seeded fourth at Wimbledon Championships, he is in the same half of the draw with the defending champion Andy Murray making their possible clash in the semis a potentially guard changer. If Murray loses to Nadal, the Spaniard can regain the world no.
1 slot. The transition from clay to grass should've been a bit harder for Nadal, but during his opening match at Wimbledon, there were no signs of weakness in his game.
A decent draw gives Nadal a good shot to win a third Wimbledon
The winner of 15 Grand Slam singles titles, Rafael Nadal is a two-times Wimbledon champion (2008, 2010). That 2008 success marked the end of Roger Federer's domination and the ascent of Rafael Nadal at the top of the game. That final holds a special place not only for Nadal but for the average tennis fan. A 5 sets thriller that went all the day having its last ball played in the twilight of the day.
Given his constant progress lately, Nada might not be seen as a threat at Wimbledon although it should.
In the opening match against Millman, he did everything by the book. An aggressive approach didn't allow the Aussie to do very much.
The Spaniard is following the same old route, constantly applying pressure using that unique spin he can generate from his racket head. The next round will put Donald Young (43 ATP) in the foe's shoes as the American got past Denis Istomin in the inaugural round.
In head to head stats, Rafael Nadal leads Young by 2-0 with both meetings being played on the hardcourts of Indian Wells (2008, 2015).
Given the way things are at the moment, Nadal seems to be floating a bit under the radar as the attention is focused on Roger Federer, Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic.
Rafael Nadal saw his season going better and better
Losing the Australian Open final to Roger Federer could have been a killing mood issue. But Nadal was aware of the improvements on his game and kept digging deeper and deeper. He had to endure two more defeats against Federer at Indian Wells and Miami, but once the action shifted to clay, he was unbeatable.
With a huge dose of confidence in his bloodstream, he can now tackle the challenges the grass season presents. With no warm-up party before Wimbledon, he remains a danger to everyone involved in the contest. Overall, his numbers in 2017 are impressive as he has a 44-6 win/ loss record under his belt.
