Rafael Nadal is a two-time men’s singles Champion at the Wimbledon Championships
A viral photo on Twitter has taken fans on a trip down memory lane. In a very skillfully clicked photograph, a single bead of sweat can be seen on the brow of Rafael Nadal. The picture is from the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, when Nadal suffered a shock fourth-round exit.
Nadal entered the 2017 edition of the tournament as the fourth seed and was considered a strong contender for the title. In the early rounds, Nadal demonstrated his dominance on grass courts. He won his first-round match against Australia’s John Millman in straight sets, followed by a second-round victory over Donald Young of the United States. In the third round, Nadal faced Russia’s Karen Khachanov and won convincingly in straight sets.
In the fourth round, he encountered Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller in an epic five-set match that lasted over four hours. Despite putting up a valiant fight, Nadal was unable to overcome Muller’s strong serve and aggressive play, eventually losing 15-13 in the fifth set. The match was widely regarded as one of the most thrilling encounters of the tournament.
Rafael Nadal has been out of action since January – will miss Wimbledon 2023
Rafael Nadal has been out of action with a hip injury since the Australian Open earlier this year. He was expected to make a comeback during the clay-court season but the injury has forced him to skip the clay-court season altogether.
The 22-time Grand Slam Champion hasn’t played a match since his second-round loss at the Australian Open and subsequently withdrew from prestigious events such as the Indian Wells Masters, Miami Open, Barcelona Open, the Madrid Open and most recently the French Open. Nadal is patiently waiting for a full recovery before coming back but it’s not certain when he will eventually be able to play.
The 22-time Grand Slam Champion slipped out of the top 100 of the men’s singles rankings for the first time since April, 2003 because of his absence from multiple events and it just keeps getting worse.
Fans are desperate to watch the Spaniard back in action but it is uncertain when the Spaniard will be able to make a full-fledged return. However, it is important that Nadal returns to action only after a complete recovery as a hurried return could very well cause a freak long-term injury and make things more difficult.
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