Patrick McEnroe thinks that Rafael Nadal's Roland Garros participation will be in serious doubt if he doesn't make his return in Rome.
Nobody really knows when Nadal will make his return to the tennis courts as there is very little information about it. In a recent update, Nadal himself admitted that recovery hasn't been going as well as the initial prognosis suggested.
His uncle was adamant recently that Nadal won't miss Roland Garros basically confirming that his nephew will take to the courts in Paris. Patrick McEnroe is not optimistic considering how things went so far. He shared his thoughts in his podcast.
So for those top guys obviously they’ve got injury issues as well. Rafa has more injury issues than Novak since he hasn’t played. Novak has had a little bit of an elbow problem but he’s been able to play so they’re fine with skipping Madrid.
For McEnroe, the best indicator will be Rome as the event plays somewhat similarly to Paris when the weather is warm. Djokovic has been excellent in it for the past few years as has Nadal traditionally but if he doesn't play, then it looks a bit grim for the Spaniard.
McEnroe insists that Nadal would want to have at least a few matches ahead of Roland Garros but that doesn't line up with some of the signals we've been getting from his camp. His coach Moya has backed Nadal to come back in strong fashion even with very little prep so he might as well skip everything ahead of Roland Garros.
Rome is going to be key to see where they’re both at. If Rafa doesn’t show up for Rome does he even attempt to play the French? I’d say probably not. He’s going to want to at least get some matches there.
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