(Reuters) – Rafa Nadal, number three in the world, says he is fully fit and confident about his preparations as he kicks off his clay court season at the Monte Carlo Masters, with an eye on his pursuit of a 14th French Open crown .
The Spaniard has not played a competitive game since losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open quarter-finals after skipping a number of tournaments with a back injury in Melbourne.
Nadal, who won a record-breaking 12th title in Monte Carlo, received a goodbye in the opening round and will open his campaign against Federico Delbonis or Adrian Mannarino in the second round.
“An important part of the season has arrived for me,” said 34-year-old Nadal at a press conference on Sunday.
“I think I did the right job to be ready. I’m happy with the way I play, right now my body is in good shape.
“I’m confident. I’m training well here in Monaco for a few days before the tournament starts. So I feel ready.”
The 20-time Grand Slam champion isn’t the only member of the Nadal family traveling to Monte Carlo this week. His uncle and former trainer Toni travels to the principality as a new member of the Canadian trainer team Felix Auger-Aliassime.
“He knows a lot about this sport,” said Rafa. “I am sure that it will be an important help for Felix.”
60-year-old Toni decided to step down as Rafa’s coach in 2017 and focus on running the Rafa Nadal academy in Mallorca.
Before the 2021 season, Auger-Aliassime trained at the academy for more than a week and turned to Toni to join his team.
“I’m happy for Felix. I’m happy for myself too,” said Nadal. “I’m happy to see my uncle here, to see him here, to spend time with him again on the tour. It’s a positive thing.”
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
