Section 3
Rafael Nadal will play his first competitive match since sealing an historic tenth French Open title. His preparation for the grass has involved training in his native Mallorca after doctors advised him to pull out of the Aegon Championships. A former champion, Nadal’s offensive has been halted in recent years due to his knees.
“My motivation is always high in all the events that I play. If not, I am not playing,” said Nadal. “It’s true that what happened with my knees in 2012 was more difficult (but) at the same time, it’s true that in 2014 I played a good event when I lost in the fourth round against Nick. But I had my chances, too.”
In Nadal’s quarter, he is surrounded by big servers with the likes of Ivo Karlovic, Gilles Muller and Karen Khachanov. On the other hand, the Spaniard will not play a top-25 player until at least the fourth round. In the second round, he could play either Denis Istomin, who stunned Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open, or Donald Young.
Nadal hasn’t reached the last eight at Wimbledon since 2011, but remains a title contender. So far in 2017, he has won 43 out of 49 matches played.
