Former Wimbledon champion and ATP World No. 4, Richard Krajicek, spoke about the upcoming Wimbledon Championships, and he expressed his belief that Rafael Nadal won't win.
Grass has never been the Spanish player's best surface, but he has played well on it over the years, improving with every season. On top of that, he already has two Grand Slam titles to his name in 2022, and that's something that also no one expected ahead of this season.
Still, as he revealed in an interview with Tennis Majors, Richard Krajicek doesn't expect Nadal to do well at the Wimbledon Championships this year, mostly because of his foot injury.
"Yeah, the men’s draw, of course, there’s Novak. Normally Roger, like, OK, he’s going to at least make the semi-final and now he’s not there. Rafa – it’s a nice thing now that they have grass courts in Mallorca so he can practise there, so let’s see."
"It’s unlikely [that he’ll win] because his foot is not good. But he still is in contention to win all [Grand Slams] for one year, which is difficult, but then, you never know."
Krajicek was also impressed by the level of his compatriot Tim van Rijthoven, who downed Daniil Medvedev in his maiden ATP final. It's something Krajicek called amazing while underlining that the mentality of a player is the most important thing in tennis.
"It’s the most important thing. I mean, if you look at Rafa, he’s a very good player, a great player, but without the mentality, he would not have achieved half of what he has achieved."
"Same with Novak. It’s the most important thing – and the willingness to work hard, but I have to say Tim always had that, he’s a very hard worker."