Nadal’s fitness boost provides lift in quest to win calendar year grand slam

Rafael Nadal has expressed his satisfaction about the development of his chronically injured foot since undergoing radiofrequency ablation treatment this month as he chases a calendar year grand slam for the first time.

After winning his 14th French Open title with his foot under anaesthesia because of the degenerative syndrome he has suffered from since his youth, Nadal underwent treatment a day later. The 36-year-old slowly made his way back to the courts afterwards, first training on the grass courts of the Mallorca Championships, an hour drive from his home in Manacor, then taking part in the Hurlingham exhibition this past week.

In his exhibition matches against Stan Wawrinka and Félix Auger-Aliassime, he did not appear to have any physical problems and he was rather much more preoccupied with perfecting his game. On Saturday, Nadal explained that he is particularly satisfied by the operation’s impact on his day-to-day life so far, even if he is still cautious about how it may develop.

“First of all, I can walk normal most of the days, almost every single day. That’s for me the main issue. When I wake up, I don’t have this pain that I was having for the last year and a half, so quite happy about that,” he said.

“And second thing, practising. I have been in overall better, honestly, no? Since the last two weeks, I didn’t have one day of these terrible days that I can’t move at all. Of course, [some] days better; days a little bit worse. The feeling and overall feelings are positive.”

They are particularly positive developments as Nadal reckons with an opportunity that will likely never come again. In his 20th season on tour, this year marks the first time that Nadal has won the first two grand slam tournaments of the