Tennis News: Can Rafael Nadal recreate history in 2022?
Rafael Nadal has enraptured his fans by displaying brilliant tennis in the 2022 season. He has won 35 out of 38 matches. He has played with four titles to his name
Rafael NadalAfter winning two Grand Slam titles, the Australian Open and Roland Garros, the world number three, could easily add a third by clinching the US Open.
The Spaniard started the year by winning the Melbourne Summer Set 1, thrashing Maxime Cressy in the final. He then resurfaced from two sets down in the summit clash against Daniil Medvedev to secure the Australian Open trophy.
He topped it off by winning the Mexican Open in Acapulco. He didn't drop a single set and defeated Medvedev in the semifinals before outclassing Cameron Norrie in the final.
Nadal then participated in the Indian Wells Masters and entered the final with victories over Nick Kyrgios and Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
Rafael Nadal is in terrible form due to a rib injury
Unfortunately, he was plagued with a rib stress fracture which curbed his performance against Taylor Fritz in the final match, which he lost in straight sets.
As a result, he missed the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open but recovered in time to compete in the Madrid Open, where he lost to Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
Nadal then suffered a last-16 exit at the hands of Denis Shapovalov at the Italian Open. During the match, Nadal's long-standing foot injury was aggravated, and it seemed as if he'd be unfit to play in the French Open.
Interestingly, Nadal was jolted back to a last-minute recovery, thanks to pain-killing medication, which helped him defeat Felix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev to win his 14th Roland Garros title.
Another injury sabotaged his Wimbledon campaign
The 36-year-old showed up at Wimbledon and reached the semifinals before backing out due to an abdominal injury, canceling his chances of completing a Calendar Slam.
However, he can still finish the season with three Majors, a feat he had achieved in 2010. He had walked out of the quarterfinals of the Australian Open that year in a match against Andy Murray but won the remaining three titles.
Rafael Nadal will aim to win the final Major of the year for the fifth time and is one of the fan favourites to win the 2022 US Open. Regardless of whether Novak Djokovic is competing, Nadal would still have to overcome players like the reigning champion Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, and Matteo Berrettini.
Yet we can't rule out his performance this season, which makes him a fair candidate for winning the US Open.