Tennis: Nadal expected in Monte-Carlo in early April

The king of Roland-Garros (14 titles) and prince of Monte-Carlo (11 titles), who has not played since the beginning of January in Brisbane, will use his protected ranking and will be there to compete in the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters ( April 6-14). The former world number one is expected on the Rock from April 1st. A little less than a month before the start of the tournament, tournament director David Massey, who also confirmed that the ten best players in the world would be present in the Principality, provided some interesting information on the king's state of form. clay.

The withdrawal from Indian Wells of the man with 22 Grand Slam titles had caused concern. Apparently, according to David Massey, who was present at the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells last weekend, the Mallorcan is in great shape. “He puts a lot of intensity into training. I can tell you it made a lot of noise. Even without many matches, he has the ability to return very quickly to a very good level. He has still not announced whether he will stop in 2024. If his body allows him he can still do great things.” His trip to the Californian desert would therefore only have been a precautionary measure. “He had back discomfort on his penultimate serve during training. As he listens to his body he didn’t take any risks,” continues Massey. After playing a lucrative exhibition in Las Vegas against Carlos Alcaraz, the former world number 1 was not yet visibly ready for a competitive match, he who was to face Milos Raonic in the first round of Indian Wells on Thursday night until last Friday. The MRI he had on his back would have gone well and would have reassured the battered champion who quickly resumed training in the United States.

The Majorcan, who dropped a clue by posting a video on his social networks where he removed the dirt from his shoes, trained in recent days in the residence of billionaire Larry Elisson, the boss of the masters 1000 in Indian Wells which notably has… a clay court.

Nadal has not played since a quarter-final defeat in Brisbane on January 5 against Jordan Thompson (5-7, 7-6, 6-3) and had successively withdrawn from the Australian Open, Doha and Indian Wells. If by then there are no new physical problems, the Spaniard will return to one of his favorite tournaments after two years of absence.