Etcheverry helps Nadal prepare for his return to tour

Rafael Nadal fist pumps, roars and injects his familiar intensity into every shot as if it were his last. Rinse, repeat. The scene sums up the past few days for the 22-time major champion, training at full throttle in Sani, on the shores of the Aegean Sea.

After bowing out in the Roland Garros opening round, the former World No. 1 had a clear plan. He would skip Wimbledon to avoid a change of surface that would have been physically demanding and rather, try to find his A-game on clay, before returning to action at the ATP 250 in Bastad and then heading to the Paris Olympic Games.

Following a few days at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in his native Mallorca, Nadal felt in need of more hours on court, for which he invited Argentinian player Tomas Martin Etcheverry, the current No. 31 in the PIF ATP Rankings, and a Top 5 player in clay-court wins this season (19). Where? At the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre in Greece, which opened in 2019. Nadal took his entire team to the resort, where he is working under the watchful eye of Carlos Moya.

“The place we’re practising in is crazy... and Nadal is going at it, I’d say he’s playing very well,” the Argentine told ATPTour.com. What was it like for the La Plata native to spend a few days with the 92-time tour-level titlist? “I’ve had the chance to ask him things, ask for advice, and he was always very humble, helping, making progress, and he had a lot of time for everyone,” said Etcheverry.

“These days have been a dream for me, a really amazing experience, above all spending time with Rafa, a player I’ve been watching since I started to play tennis, one of the best in history, so it was crazy. It was a privilege and an honour,” enthused Etcheverry, who was there with his team, coach Wally Grinovero and fitness coach Martiniano Orazi.

Nadal will be in action next week at the Nordea Open in Bastad. It will mark the Spaniard’s first appearance at the ATP 250 since he won the event in 2005. Holding a 7-5 season record, Nadal continues his search for competition time and rhythm before the Olympics kick off in the French capital, where he will be playing in singles and partnering Carlos Alcaraz in doubles.

Editor's Note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es.

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