Rafael Nadal ‘No Longer in Pain’, Says French Veteran After Hitting with the King of Clay

Amid the tensions about Nadal‘s return post-surgery, veteran French tennis star and colleague, Richard Gasquet recently dropped a hopeful message for the fans. These two tennis stars first crossed paths in the 2004 Estoril Open in Portugal. After that, from the Rolland Garros court to the US Open, Nadal and Gasquet faced off against each other. Not to mention, the on-court rivalry turned into a beautiful friendship. This is more visible to fans now that Gasquet seemed positive about his colleague’s return to tennis in full form.

Nadal’s hip surgery was complicated and the following five months of rest truly impacted his tennis skills. Even Nadal’s coach, Carlos Moya seemed anxious over this Spanish tennis legend’s return to the court. However, Richard Gasquet’s message assured fans that they could still rely on Rafael Nadal’s tennis brilliance just like before.

French tennis star says Rafael Nadal is no longer in pain post-surgery

Richard Gasquet recently shared exclusive updates about colleague Nadal’s health and performance as the duo trained together. Gasquet commented- “Rafa told me that it took him a while to come back, but I felt that he was no longer in pain. He will be competitive and he will win matches, there is no doubt! He is doing long 3-hour sessions. That’s what you need to do, play as much as possible.” 

Gasquet’s message brought a lot of hope among the fans as they felt relieved knowing that their favorite tennis star was doing well. In fact, Gasquet keeping high hopes for Nadal’s return also helped fans overcome a long period of anxiety over the Spanish legend’s post-injury health.

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Nadal’s hip surgery has been complicated and three doctors from overseas had to perform it. However, even after the successful surgery, Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya didn’t seem too confident about the tennis legend’s return.

Nadal’s coach voices concern over star’s performance and points out glaring difference between practice matches and tournaments

Nadal’s post-surgery training was truly not up to the mark and his coach Carlos Moya recently expressed it to the media openly. Moya said- “For me, clearly the assimilation of the burdens of the parties. I think that’s my biggest fear. Rafa is going to go from training, which he is doing very well, to competing. And it is impossible to have the same conditions in training as in a match. Play the best of five sets, win, rest, return to the court two days later… That is the doubt I have right now, especially for a Grand Slam. But we have time.” Moya’s statement aptly presented the difference between training and tournament environments.

Amid all the tension and anxiety, Richard Gasquet truly brought much-needed relief to the fans. Now they can’t wait to see the King of Clay rock the tennis tournaments once again!

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