Just like he promised on his Instagram account a day ago, Rafael Nadal has arrived in Paris and is scheduled for his first practice in the early evening.
Nadal's stay in Rome was cut short by an unexpected defeat to Denis Shapovalov, who took advantage of the Spaniard's chronic foot issue. The injury flared up again during the match, and it hampered the 10-time champion dramatically.
Nadal could not move as freely as he always does on clay, where he can slide effortlessly across the baseline and is lightning fast in retrieving near-certain dead balls and forcing opponents to play one more shot.
He was seen limping during that match and told reporters after his elimination that the injury had resurfaced. Since then, the former World No. 1 has been rehabbing in Manacor and training at his academy before traveling to Paris this week.
The tournament, through its official Twitter account, has confirmed its practice schedule for the day. Nadal is slated for a session at around 6:30 p.m. local time on Court Philippe-Chatrier and is expected to be accompanied by his coach, Carlos Moya.
Nadal suffered only his third-ever defeat at the clay-court major last year, losing to his great rival Novak Djokovic (for the second time after 2015) in a titanic semifinal clash. He'll have another crack at a mind-boggling 14th title in the next two weeks.
Despite a subpar build-up to his French Open campaign, largely affected by a rib injury he picked up in Indian Wells, which forced him to pull out from Monte Carlo and Barcelona, he will be one of the contenders to win the event.
Other players who will also hit the practice courts on Wednesday include former champions Stan Wawrinka and Simona Halep, while Italy's rising star Jannik Sinner, who made the quarterfinals in 2020, will also take to the court during the morning session.
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