Rafael Nadal's path to his Australian Open semi-final against Grigor Dimitrov on Friday has taught the 30-year-old Spaniard one thing -- he's still got it.
Images from Day 3 of the 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
World number one Rafael Nadal faces a potentially treacherous task in his bid to win a fifth consecutive French Open title following Friday's draw for the tournament starting on Sunday. The top seed, unbeaten at Roland Garros since his debut in 2005, is in the same half of the draw as Briton Andy Murray and Spanish eighth seed Fernando Verdasco, who gave him a rough time in the Australian Open semi-finals.
There were glimpses of the formidable Rafa Nadal as the eight-times champions swept aside French Open champion Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-4 on Friday to reach the Monte Carlo Master semi-finals.
Claycourt master Rafael Nadal quickly adapted to his new surroundings at Roland Garros with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 demolition of German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann in the first round of the French Open on Monday.
Rafael Nadal's hopes of a 15th Grand Slam title were crushed by an inspired Roger Federer in the Australian Open final on Sunday but the rejuvenated Spaniard was already rubbing his hands together with the prospect of a 'special' season on clay.
The 28-year-old Spaniard sustained the injury in practice last month and has been training with a cast on his right wrist, forcing him to miss the Rogers Cup in Toronto and last week's Cincinnati Open.
Nadal no longer 'immovable' object in Paris.
Nadal has turned back the clock to sweep through the European claycourt season with titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid and is a daunting obstacle for anyone with genuine title ambitions.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic laid down an early French Open marker when he reached the Monte Carlos Masters final.
Nadal braced for tough Cilic test in Melbourne showdown
'When we play against Djokovic, many times we didn't know exactly what we had to do. This is more difficult, for me. I prefer to play against Federer'
Rafael Nadal put in some late-night overtime to drag hosts Spain into the Davis Cup semi-finals but Novak Djokovic's hopes were dashed in excruciating fashion as Serbia bowed out on Friday.
'I wake up today and say to myself, 'Today is the day that I'll play'. I need to play with the right energy, and I need to increase the level of my game'
Two-time Wimbledon champion Rafa Nadal kicked off his grasscourt season with a 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-2 defeat of Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart on Thursday.
Slow is not a speed usually associated with Rafael Nadal, but the former world number one admitted on Monday his return to full fitness and to Grand Slam winning form is likely to take some time. The muscular Spaniard only returned to the tour last week in Montreal after two months out with chronic tendinitis in both knees.
The world number two launched his campaign for a third successive Rome Masters title with a below-par win over Italian wild card Daniele Bracciali.
Factbox on Rafael Nadal, who beat Dominic Thiem to win his 12th French Open title:
Rafael Nadal had just beaten rising Greek force Stefanos Tsitsipas in a classic scrap at the ATP Finals but had no idea whether it was good enough to keep him in the tournament.
Djokovic dropped only three games against Klizan.
Rafael Nadal was tested for the first time this week as he beat Italian Potito Starace 6-2, 7-5 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open and extend his record claycourt winning streak to 70 matches.
Rafael Nadal has played down the significance of his quarter-final defeat by Austrian Dominic Thiem at the Madrid Open
A rampant Rafael Nadal turned on the style to beat old rival Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 6-3 on Saturday and reach his first Italian Open final since 2014. The top-seeded Spaniard will face defending champion Alexander Zverev who overcame fourth seed Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-6(13), 7-5 in the other semi-final.
Defending US Open champion Rafael Nadal and twice winner Novak Djokovic are one victory away from renewing their rivalry in the final with both expected to get through their semis on Friday.
The 31-year-old becomes world number one for a sixth time ahead of the French Open.
An almost deathly hush descended as Serbian Novak Djokovic administered the last rites on Rafael Nadal's reign of dominance at the French Open.
'This was the first time that I played points and that was too much for me today'
Here are a few famous faces that watched Nadal go one step close to matching Roger Federer's 20 Grand Slam titles...
Playing his first match since injuring his knee at Indian Wells last month, Nadal showed no signs of rust as he raced into a 5-0 lead in the first set on Court Rainier III.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic tops the draw while new world number one Ash Barty is top seed in the women's singles.
Watching India and Australia compete in the series-deciding fifth Test was some experience for the 54-year-old American tennis legend.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal took care of business in their singles matches before teaming up in an eagerly anticipated doubles pairing to extend Europe's lead over players from the rest of the world in the inaugural Laver Cup on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal defeated 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the Australian Open semi-final to meet Roger Federer in dream summit clash in Melbourne.
Teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz steamrolled past Argentine lucky loser Juan Ignacio Londero 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 to kick off his French Open campaign in solid
Images from Day 1 of the 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday.
Spain's talisman Rafael Nadal sealed a sixth Davis Cup title for his country on Sunday when they beat Canada 2-0 in the final of the revamped event.
Rafael Nadal was cautious about predicting how his body would hold up in the run-in to the US Open on Wednesday but did reveal that he had not missed the grind of the tennis tour during his absence from the game.
Andy Murray continued his remarkable run on clay.
Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal were winners but six seeds were beaten in a day of upsets in the second round at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Thursday.
Nadal's comments follow media reports this week that Novak Djokovic, the president of the Players' Council, had urged players to unionise at a pre-Australian Open meeting and revolt over the way the revenues from the four grand slams are distributed.
