The coach of Rafael Nadal has dismissed speculation that the world No.4 will head into the French Open ‘not in his best form’ after it was suggested by Patrick Mouratoglou.
Carlos Moya has hit back at the Frenchman and called for him to have ‘a bit of respect.’ Nadal is playing at the Madrid Open this week which is his first clay court event of the 2022 season. He has missed recent weeks of the Tour due to a rib injury which he sustained during Indian Wells Masters.
Speaking to France Television, Mouratoglou raised concerns that a lack of match play for the 21-time Grand Slam champion could hinder his performance at Roland Garros later this month. The Frenchman is currently working as the coach of Simona Halep after recently ending his long-time collaboration with Serena Williams. Mouratoglou has also been involved in the development of various other players, including Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“He is not going to play many games and it is very rare that he arrives at Roland-Garros with so few games. So, this tournament will be a bit unknown for him,” he said.
“Despite his incredible start to the season, Rafa has always been a player that he needed to play a lot. He is not going to arrive in his best form.”
Taking to Twitter, Moya played down the comment by listing a series of facts to counter the claim. The Spaniard has been a member of Nadal’s team since 2016 and is a former world No.1 player himself. Moya won 20 ATP Tour titles during his competitive career.
“17 straight years in the top 10, [winning] Roland Garros 2020 after three matches in seven months, [winning] Australian Open 2022 after three matches in six months…a bit of respect and memory.” Moya wrote in a tweet quoting Mouratoglou’s remark.
Nadal returned to action on Wednesday in Madrid with a 6-1, 7-6(4), win over Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanović. That was the first match he had played on the Tour since March 20th. The 35-year-old is hoping to continue his stellar start to the year where he won 20 matches in a row before losing to Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final.
Nadal will take on David Goffin in her next match in Madrid on Thursday.
