Rafael Nadal’s head coach Carlos Moya feels the Calendar slam is a realistic goal for the Spaniard but at the moment it doesn’t keep him up at night. Nadal has already won the Australian Open and Roland Garros in the ongoing season and he has achieved this feat for the first time in his career.
The 36-year-old veteran will now participate in the upcoming Wimbledon to keep his Calendar slam hopes alive. However, Nadal might not be thinking about the same as he is known to take one game at a time, which has helped him savor success in his glorious career.
On the other hand, Novak Djokovic had come close to winning the Calendar slam in the previous season as he had won the first three Majors of the year but could not cross the final hurdle against Daniil Medvedev in the US Open 2021 final.
Meanwhile, Rod Laver was the last Men’s Tennis player to win the Calendar grand slam as he had achieved the feat in 1962 and 1969. Steffi Graff had won it back in 1988.
“[The Calendar Slam] is a realistic goal. It is the first time in his career that he is in a position to achieve it, but we see it as something far away, it is halfway. At the moment, it doesn’t keep him up at night. As a team, few things keep us up at night and this isn’t one of them,” Moya said while talking to Eurosport. “We have to go little by little, it is not a primary objective, although we are not going to give up on it.”
Moya added that Nadal’s game on grass is solid and he will be looking to bring his best to Wimbledon.
“Rafael Nadal wants to do well always, wherever, his motivation is above any tournament. It is clear that Wimbledon is a fetish tournament for him, he has won it twice and made five finals in a row,” Moya said. “The last two times he competed there, he made the semifinals. He is perfectly suited to grass. I know that he can play very well, for me he aspires to the best.”
Nadal has won two Wimbledon titles in his career and he will be looking to add another title to his impressive trophy cabinet at SW19. Moya added that Wimbledon can be an unpredictable tournament.
“At Wimbledon there can always be more surprises: regardless of the player you get in those first rounds, what is dangerous is the type of opponent you get, you have to be careful with the sluggers,” Moya said. “Now Nadal has two important exhibition matches, my confidence in him for Wimbledon remains the highest.”
Wimbledon 2022 will begin on June 27.
