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Andy Murray gears up for Rafael Nadal test, Spaniard on GOAT debate - Mubadala World Tennis Championship diary

Updated 17/12/2021 at 09:15 GMT

Andy Murray will face Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2016 in Abu Dhabi on Friday. Although not an official match, it will provide both players with a chance to assess their level ahead of next month’s Australian Open. Reem Abulleil is back with her latest diary from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. Stream the 2022 Australian Open live and on demand on discovery+

‘Couple of old guys’ - Murray excited for Nadal clash

Nadal to make comeback against Murray

Rafael Nadal’s first match back from a four-month injury lay-off will be against long-time foe Andy Murray at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Murray’s smooth 6-3 6-2 victory over his compatriot Dan Evans on Thursday set up the Brit’s showdown with Nadal – their first meeting in five and a half years, albeit in an unofficial setting.

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“Hopefully we can put on a good performance for a couple of old guys,” the 34-year-old Murray joked during his on-court interview.

The former world No. 1 later added in his press conference: “These are the sort of matches I want to be playing, that’s one of the reasons why I’m still playing.

“It’s obviously nice to play him in this event and we’ll go out there and hopefully we put on a good performance and stuff, but yeah, I want to be playing these guys in the biggest competitions again, that’s something that motivates me.

“So tomorrow, although it’s not an official match, it’s an opportunity for me to play against him for the first time – I think last time we played was five or six years ago, it’s a really long time. It shows the sort of struggles that I’ve been through for a few years, him recently. It’ll be nice to play against each other again.”

‘I still have the interior fire to keep going’

Speaking to the media in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, Nadal shared some good news and some uncertain news about how he is viewing this upcoming period.

The world No.6, who has been struggling with a foot injury that ruled him out of both Wimbledon and the US Open, sounded incredibly motivated to do whatever it takes to regain his full fitness and try and get back to his best level.

He did however cast a doubt over his participation at next month’s Australian Open, admitting just making the trip Down Under would be a win for him.

“The only thing I want to do or I’m fighting to do is to be ready if the situation has a small chance to change and I feel myself healthy and I’m able to play the tournament before Australia and be there for 20 days before the Australian Open starts and practising well,” said the Spaniard.

Nadal 'confident' that with no injuries he can 'fight again for everything'

“I have been doing a great job at home, practising well with the right attitude, intensity, working a lot on my fitness; so if I’m able to do all these kind of things because the foot allows me, you never know what’s going on,” added Nadal.

“But today, my expectation is just to try to be there in Australia and be there healthy enough to play the tournament with positive feelings. I know it’s going to be super difficult for me.

“If things are going well, I’m going to be playing only one tournament before Australia and these two matches here, so the amount of hours on court at the competitive level before such a tough and demanding tournament like Australia will be not much.

“But the main thing is still always the same, is to be healthy. If I’m healthy, I still have the interior fire to keep going and to fight for my goals.”

A mixed bag of information there from the 20-time major champion but his fans would be happy to know that he looked strong during his practice session with Andrey Rublev on Thursday.

Shapovalov: Rafa killed me on the court yesterday

More promising news for the ‘Rafanatics’ out there came from Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who enjoyed a winning debut in Abu Dhabi by crushing Taylor Fritz 6-3 6-0 in a mere 55 minutes.

Shapovalov prepped for his match by hitting the practice court with Nadal on Wednesday and the 22-year-old concedes he did not fare well against the Mallorcan.

“He killed me on the court yesterday so I think he’s feeling pretty good,” said Shapovalov, whose breakout moment came back in 2017 when he stunned Nadal in the Canada Masters.

“It’s incredible to be out on the court with him. Every time I’m hitting against him, I’m just like, ‘Damn, this guy’s good’.

“I mean I hit a passing shot yesterday and he just hit a drop volley off of it like it was nothing and I’m like, ‘I wish I could do that’.

“You really see how great they are when you practice with them. The guy hits the ball so big, he’s so good, he’s got some of the best hands I’ve seen at the net, for me it’s inspiring to practice with guys like this, for my sake to see how I can be better, or how I can improve my game so I can hopefully one day be at their level or be somewhat as good as they are.”

Shapovalov’s reward for defeating Fritz is a clash against Rublev on Friday.

Canada's Denis Shapovalov reacts as he playes against USA's Tommy Paul

Image credit: Getty Images

New year, new racquet for Andy

Murray is embracing change as he gets ready for a new season and I’m not just referring to his split with his coach of five-plus years Jamie Delgado and his current trial period with Jan de Witt.

The Scot is also playing with a new racquet, finally ditching the one he had been using for the past two decades. He was pleased with how his first match with the new racquet went, and came out of the victory over Evans with some important intel on where his game is at the moment.

“I’ve played with the same racquet for 20 years, this was my first match playing with a new racquet, so that’s another thing which is a bonus here, getting the opportunity to play matches against top players maybe when I’m not feeling as much stress as I might do in Australia for example, to get that opportunity to play those matches to see how the racquet feels and stuff was good,” he said.

“Test my movement out a little bit. There are some takeaways in terms of things I did well with my game, things I could potentially work on. Definitely felt at times I was breathing quite heavy and hard after long points, which suggests that I need more of these sort of matches maybe just to get cardiovascular strength slightly better than what it is just now. Today was a good step for me.”

Highlights: Murray wins Battle of Brits over Evans in Abu Dhabi

‘Chances for Novak are much higher’

The GOAT debate in men’s tennis is one of the most deliberated, and probably futile, conversations, particularly because it’s difficult to agree on what criteria exactly determines who is the greatest of all time.

With Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer all tied at the top of the all-time list of most Grand Slams won, with 20 major titles each, many are waiting for one of them to inch ahead to put the GOAT debate to bed once and for all.

Nadal was asked on Thursday if the Grand Slam tally should be the basis for settling the argument.

“I don’t know, I am no one to confirm that,” replied the Spaniard.

“I am outside the competition for the last six months; I understand that the conversation is always there, especially with Novak, who has been playing every week almost, but for me and Roger that we have been injured for such a long period of time.

“Of course we are equal but the chances for Novak are much higher than for us because he’s healthy and competing and he’s doing well.

“Let’s see what can happen in the next couple of months. If I’m back again we can be talking about that later in the season, in a couple of months. Now my real goal is to be back and to be healthy and to be competitive. If that happens, let’s see.”

‘Ambitious’ Jabeur eyeing further success

Tunisian Ons Jabeur came out on a top in an exhibition clash with Belinda Bencic on Thursday, which was a solid test for the elbow injury that marred the end of her 2021 campaign.

Hoping to go easy on her elbow in her first match back in a couple of months, Jabeur wasn’t planning on hitting too many of her signature drop shots but found herself tempted when Bencic tried to give her a taste of her own medicine.

MWTC history-maker Ons Jabeur (L) celebrates after victory over Belinda Bencic

Image credit: Eurosport

“She surprised me a lot with her drop shots. To be honest I wasn’t planning to do a lot but I guess it’s a disease and I cannot control it anymore,” laughed Jabeur.

The 27-year-old Jabeur made her top-10 debut this season, becoming the first Arab – man or woman – to enter that elite ranking bracket. In June in Birmingham, she became the first Arab to lift a WTA title and a few weeks later, she became the first Arab woman to make the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. She’s aiming for more in 2022.

“As you know I’m someone that likes challenges and especially likes to say the goals out loud,” Jabeur said.

“I want to keep breaking records, I want to keep making history and giving even more the example for the athletes out there. I want to continue my journey and be able to win more titles, prove myself that I deserve the spot in the top 10. I’m very ambitious for next year, I’m going to expand more the team, I’ll let you know when everything is confirmed and it’s going to be a great season hopefully.”

Right before coming to Abu Dhabi, Jabeur was in Kuwait where she was invited to attend the trophy ceremony of a tournament that featured the best male tennis players from the Arab world. The tournament took place at the facilities that house the Rafa Nadal Academy, and the Spaniard was actually there around the same time as Jabeur. They missed each other in Kuwait but have met in the UAE capital.

“I asked him to play with me, hopefully he’ll accept. Not too much spin though, let’s see,” revealed Jabeur.

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