The 2023 Australian Open will start at dawn from Sunday to Monday (peninsular time) and in said tournament will be Rafa Nadal and Alexander Zverevthe Spaniard will try to defend the title won here last year and the German will seek to recover sensations after the serious injury that occurred last June at Roland Garros.

The German sprained his ankle abruptly in the semifinal match against Nadal and it is the Spaniard he has recently spoken about with some statements that have surprised the world of tennis: “Unfortunately Rafa Nadal will retire after Roland Garros. I don’t want it to happen, but I think he’s going to have a great tournament, potentially win it, and say goodbye.“, Alexander explained in a forecast to ‘Eurosport’. In addition, ‘Sasha’ pointed to the great favorite to win the rest of GS: “I think that Nadal still has a chance to win Roland Garros, and that Novak is the favorite to win all others”.

“I don’t want it to happen but Nadal possibly wins Roland Garros and then retires”

The words of Zverev, who will debut against the Peruvian JP Varillas, have attracted a lot of attention considering the confidence with which he pronounced them in the talk with ‘Eurosport’, the issue of withdrawal has been a constant in recent weeks every time the Spanish player lost a game. In the United Cup, he lost to Norrie and De Minaur, he complained at a press conference after the umpteenth question from a journalist.

Nadal has had enough of the questions about his possible retirement

“You are very, very interested in my retirement. At the moment, that is not the case. When this day comes, I will let you know. But do not continue with the subject of retirement because I am here to continue playing tennis“, assured the winner of 22 Grand Slams.

Nadal, for his part, spoke to the media before his first match in Australia against Jack Draper: “I have not come here for a walk, but to try. What happened last year was proof that if you feel good and gain confidence, you can change things and what sometimes seems impossible is no longer so. I hadn’t trained that much in the last 10 years. My first match is a challenge, as for the tournament, Djokovic is the great favourite, if he wins and draws me at 22, he will have done something historic but it will not change my life”, explained the Spanish athlete.