Rafael Nadal's coach Carlos Moya has hit back at critics who argued that the Spaniard will not regain his form in time for the 2022 Roland Garros.
Nadal's fitness was in doubt ahead of the 2022 clay court season as the former world number one missed out on several events after his Indian Wells final loss to Taylor Fritz.
However, the current world number four has since shown a promising return to form at the Madrid Open, including a straight-sets win over Miomir Kecmanovic in his opening match.
Ultimately, Nadal will aim to build up his fitness at the Madrid Open so that he can compete at the 2022 Roland Garros. The Spanish veteran will then try to head to the French Open, with the ultimate goal of notching his 14th career win at the Grand Slam event and improving on his semi-final run in 2021.
Despite his recent show of quality and physical fitness in Madrid, some commentators have raised concerns about the 36-year-old's readiness to compete at the Roland Garros.
In particular, French tennis coach Patrick Mouratogolou told Eurosport that he was not convinced of Nadal's capabilities to perform at the top level in Paris.
"He will not arrive at Roland-Garros in his best shape."
Mouratogolou's observations were not taken well by Nadal's team, and his coach, Moya, took offense to the comments and publically hit back on Twitter. When responding to the quotes, Moya simply pointed to the 21-time Grand Slam winner's recent record to shun any points raised by Mouratogolou.
"17 years in a row Top 10, Roland Garros 2020 with 3 matches in 7 months, Australian Open 2022 with 3 matches in 6 months... a little respect and memory."
Moya has been Nadal's coach since 2016, and he has helped his compatriot win four French Opens, two US Opens, and one Australian Open. Nadal's most recent Grand Slam victory under Moya's guidance came at the Australian Open in January when the Spanish star defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final.
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