Rafael Nadal 'will be ready' for French Open and 'no doubt' Novak Djokovic will perform - Patrick Mouratoglou
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ByEurosport
Updated 14/04/2023 at 19:35 GMT
Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who currently works with Holger Rune and Simona Halep, believes Rafael Nadal will be fit in time for the French Open which gets underway next month. Nadal announced he would not be competing at the Barcelona Open as he's "still not prepared". Mouratoglou also thinks Novak Djokovic will be back to his normal self at this year's French Open.
Nadal will be giving 'the best he can' to be fit for French Open – Henin
Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou thinks Rafael Nadal "will be ready" for the French Open in May.
Nadal announced on Friday that he would not be competing at this month's Barcelona Open as he continues to recover from a leg injury he picked up at the Australian Open in January.
It means the 22-time Grand Slam winner faces a race against time to be fit for the French Open which gets underway on May 28.
Mouratoglou believes Nadal will be able to overcome his fitness worries and be in the draw for the second Grand Slam of the year.
"Rafa has one goal, to win more Grand Slams than anyone else," Mouratoglou exclusively tells Eurosport.
"He knows that his number one chance is the French Open and I think he told himself that he wanted to arrive in Paris in the best shape possible.
"But it's harder and harder every year because his body is very worn out, more than other players. He gave 1000% in training and matches. That means that his annual playing time is getting shorter every year.
"I think his goal is still Roland-Garros, which is why he's been preparing on clay for a long time. He'll be in shape tennis-wise.
"Will he be physically fit? I can't say, it will depend on how he manages his injuries.
"He'll have to have a few matches, but I'm not really worried about him. He will be ready for Roland-Garros.
"The rest of the year is something else... If he does well at Roland-Garros, he's done well for the year and he often plays pretty well on hard courts."
Mouratoglou also says he is "not worried" about Novak Djokovic being a real threat at this year's French Open after he crashed out of the Monte Carlo Masters to Lorenzo Musetti in his first competitive tournament since Dubai at the start of March.
"I'm not worried about him. He did the same thing last year, he went through it in Monte-Carlo," he said.
"I think it's costing him these long periods without a match, when everyone else is confident.
"He's just coming in, he doesn't have a reference. And even in terms of motivation... I'm not in his pocket, I don't know how he trains. But I know that when you know that you don't have a tournament for two months, going to train every day is not easy.
"The recovery is not easy. I have no doubt about his level of play in the Grand Slams.
"After that, the only danger is that the young players are progressing more and more. His current level of play is mainly the consequence of his absence in Indian Wells and Miami."
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