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PARIS, FRANCE October 06. Winner Rafael Nadal of Spain is congratulated by Jannik Sinner of Italy at the net after the Quarter Final match of the singles competition on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
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PARIS, FRANCE October 06. Winner Rafael Nadal of Spain is congratulated by Jannik Sinner of Italy at the net after the Quarter Final match of the singles competition on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, players have been forced to quarantine before the Australian Open. Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal has been doing so in Adelaide and there, he is training with rising tennis star Jannik Sinner.
The Italian enjoyed a stunning 2020 season which saw him win his first ATP title. In addition to that, he also reached the quarter-finals of the French Open where he lost to Rafa in a tough contest.
Clearly, Jannik is a very talented player, which is why Nadal decided to practice with him before the Melbourne Slam. Here is a clip from their intense training session.
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Rafael Nadal's practice with Jannik Sinner in Adelaide (via piattitenniscenter IG Stories) https://t.co/osp7sMiX6L pic.twitter.com/6TX6eosgh4
— Tanika (@SitTanyusha) January 27, 2021
As you can see in the above post, Nadal was working on his volleys. Jannik was hitting some powerful groundstrokes but that didn’t deter the Spaniard. His volleys were perfectly on point and they are surely going to win him matches at the 2021 Australian Open.
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Rafael Nadal of Spain returns the ball during the quarterfinals of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jason Heidrich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Huge Achievements Lie In Store For Rafael Nadal At The Australian Open
The Australian Open has not been the best event for Rafa. He has only been able to win it once even though he has reached 5 finals throughout his career. He surely wants to triumph there again and he will have the motivation of 2 huge achievements to do so this year.
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The first one is the Grand Slam record. Currently, the World No. 2 is tied with his rival Roger Federer for this record. He will definitely want to go past him by winning in Melbourne.
The second and more important achievement for Rafa is – the Double Career Grand Slam. No player has ever completed this in the Open Era, which is why achieving this would help Rafa’s case to be considered the GOAT of tennis.
Many might say that it is tough for the Spaniard to get his hands on the above achievements due to his record in Melbourne. However, he has surprised everyone on numerous occasions and he could very well do it again this year. Good luck Rafa!
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