​Rafael Nadal returned after almost a year of participation in the ATP tournament, and his game against Dominic Thiem was evaluated by specialists (victory 7-5, 6-1). The coach of the Iberian, Carlos Moya, spoke about the plans for the 2024 season and when Rafa can reach his peak form.

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Carlos Moya says Rafael Nadal plans to reach peak form in March-April 2024.

Nadal’s performance against Thiem in the first round of Brisbane was a surprise even for the Iberian team.

Carlos Moya, Rafa’s coach, made it clear in an interview with L’Equipe that he was very pleased with Nadal’s performance. “His level was high, much higher than we expected,” says Moya.

“It is clear that he has many things to improve, but let’s not rush, step by step. I think we will see his best version starting from spring, from March to April,” Carlos Moya thinks.

The Iberian coach also says that Rafa needs more matches to gain confidence and rhythm.

“The idea is to be 100% before Roland Garros. Maybe it will be sooner, you never know with Rafa,” Moya concluded for the quoted source.

Of course, the version presented by Carlos Moya is one in which the student will not have injuries that will make it difficult for him to return to a high level.

37-year-old Nadal (672 ATP) will play Jason Kubler (102nd in the world) in the second round of the tournament in Brisbane. These two have never met before on world circuits. The match will take place on Thursday, around 10:30 (Romanian time) and will be available to watch live on Digisport channels.

Know

• Nadal played his last official match at the Australian Open early last year when he lost to Mackenzie Macdonald in the second round.

• Rafa has since missed the entire 2023 season with hip problems and underwent surgery last June.

• Although Novak Djokovic, one of his biggest rivals in his career, has said that Rafa will return to win major titles, the Spaniard believes that he is not ready to win ATP titles at the moment.

• With 25 points after his win over Thiem, Nadal climbed 131 places in the ATP Live rankings to 541.

The tournament in Brisbane will be held from December 31 to January 7. It is part of the ATP 250 category, has a total prize pool of US$739,945, and there will be 32 players in the main singles at the start, with Kei Nishikori (in 2019) as the defending champion.

Australian Open 2024 will be held from January 14 to 28 in Melbourne.

What you need to know about Rafael Nadal

• At the age of 37, the Iberian won 1,069 career victories and lost 220 times.

• He has 92 ATP titles won over a period of time, and 22 of them are Grand Slam tournaments (two titles behind record holder Novak Djokovic).

• He collected $134,640,719 in tennis prizes alone.

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