Rafael Nadal heads Down Under as the 20-time Grand Slam champion recovers from Covid to arrive in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open – but doubts remain over world No 1 Novak Djokovic’s participation
- Rafael Nadal arrived in Melbourne on Friday ahead of the Australian Open
- The tournament, which is the first Slam of 2022, gets underway on January 17
- A positive Covid test this month had placed Nadal’s participation in real doubt
- Nadal has recovered and was all smiles as he stood inside the Rod Laver Arena
Rafael Nadal gave tennis fans a late Christmas present as he revealed he had touched down in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open.
Having tested positive for Covid following an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, the 20-time Grand Slam champion’s position was in jeopardy and he accepted his schedule was up in the air.
But Nadal took to social media on Friday morning to show him stood on court inside the Rod Laver Arena, ending fears the first Slam of the year would go on without Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Nadal.
Rafael Nadal surprised his fans by showing him on court at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne
Players, including Sir Andy Murray and Naomi Osaka, have been arriving in Australia over the last few days to step up their preparations for the 2022 season.
The ATP Cup starts on Saturday but for Nadal he has signed up for an ATP 250 event in Melbourne as his pre-Slam event.
But others are finding their plans put on hold with disruption caused by the Omicron Covid variant seemingly inevitable.
Nadal made his comeback from injury at the exhibition event in Abu Dhabi – his first tournament appearance since the Citi Open in Washington in August -…
Source : dailymail
