On December 31, Beijing time, Spanish tennis king Nadal posted on social media, confirming that he had arrived in Melbourne, Australia, to participate in the upcoming Australian season. Nadal previously self-isolated for 10 days because he tested positive for COVID-19, and at one point there were rumors that he might miss the Australian season.
Nadal's comeback is not smooth. After losing to Djokovic in the semi-finals of this year's French Open, Nadal has been hanging the card of exemption due to injury. He made a brief comeback in Washington in August, but it didn't work out well. Nadal has since announced an early end to the 2021 season, focusing on his injury recovery.
After months of recovery, Nadal made a comeback in the recent Abu Dhabi exhibition matches, but lost both singles matches. After finishing the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Match, Nadal returned to Spain to test positive for nucleic acid and had to undergo 10 days of home isolation after his comeback.
If all goes well, Nadal will play for the Australian Open for his 17th time in 17 days. In the first 16 Australian Open competitions, Nadal achieved a record of 69 wins and 15 losses, and he reached the final five times in total, but only won one title. It's been 13 years since Nadal won the last Australian Open, can he claim Melbourne again this time?
Among the big three, Federer has determined that he will not play in the Australian Open, Djokovic is still waiting for a medical exemption, and only Nadal is currently determined to play in the Australian Open. With a total of 20 of the three Grand Slam titles, Nadal will be the first to reach 21 titles in Melbourne. If he can win the Australian Open next year, Nadal will complete the two major feats of double Grand Slam and Grand Slam 21st crown.