Rafael Nadal told Calendar Grand Slam is a 'realistic goal' for him to chase ahead of Wimbledon
- Planet Sport writer
- 24 June 2022
Rafael Nadal could achieve what no man has in more than 50 years this year in the Calendar Grand Slam, and he has been told to 'go for it' at Wimbledon.
Rafael Nadal will pursue a rarely seen Calendar Grand Slam at Wimbledon, and his coach Carlos Moya has told him it is a 'realistic goal.'
Steffi Graf was the last person to win one, with the German achieving it in 1988. You have to go back 53 years to find the last man (Rod Laver) to achieve it, though.
Last season, Novak Djokovic came to within one win of a Calendar Slam before losing in the final of the US Open to Daniil Medvedev.
Djokovic sobbed on court in Flushing Meadows as the pressure of the pursuit got too much for him, further highlighting how difficult it is to win.
For the first time in his career, Rafael Nadal heads to Wimbledon with the chance to make it three Grand Slam titles out of three for the year, and Carlos Moya says they are going to 'go for it.'
"It is a realistic goal," Moya told Spanish Eurosport when asked about Nadal's chances of winning a Calendar Grand Slam.
"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.
"We have to go little by little, it is not a primary objective, although we are not going to give up on it."
An historic pre-tournament practice on Centre Court for Matteo Berrettini and @RafaelNadal#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/bT9DtMLcaB
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 23, 2022
"Rafael Nadal wants to do well always, wherever, his motivation is above any tournament. It is clear that Wimbledon is a good tournament for him. He has won it twice and made five finals in a row.
"The last two times he competed there, he made the semi-finals. He is perfectly suited to grass. I know that he can play very well, for me he aspires to the best."
Before Nadal can even think about a Calendar Grand Slam, he will need to win Wimbledon.
It's a tournament he has won twice before, although the most recent of those was 12 years ago now.
Moya, though, has warned Nadal that it is a tournament that can quickly turn against you early on if you are not tuned in.
"At Wimbledon there can always be more surprises," he said.
"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, [but] my confidence in him for Wimbledon remains the highest."
