ARTICLES:

• Exclusive: Casper Ruud explains why Rafael Nadal is almost unstoppable on clay ahead of French Open | Eurosport

“If you want to beat Rafa at Roland-Garros, when you are going out to the match, you are thinking, ‘OK, I’m going to have to play the best match of my life for at least four-and-a-half hours because even though I’m playing great, he will play unbelievable back’,” Ruud said on the latest episode of Ruud Talk, which aired on Friday.

“If I play well, he [Nadal] plays well, so it’s going to be a long match. Not many players are prepared to do that I think and that’s why you have seen some of the clay court players be so successful on clay.”

• Brick by brick: Can Rafael Nadal fend off new guard as clay swing looms? | tennis.com

Can Nadal, who will turn 37 in two months, rise from the ashes of injury again? If he does, will it be the final time? If he doesn’t, can a Djokovic-Alcaraz-Tsitsipas trivalry produce the same sustained intensity from April to June that we’ve taken for granted since 2006?

… This is the season that Rafa built. By dominating clay and Roland Garros so thoroughly, he’s hasn’t made them boring. Instead, he’s raised both of them in significance. We should enjoy what he brings to spring for as long it lasts, and know that the surface and the season will live on without him.

• Babolat Releasing Signature Nadal Racket With Player-Inspired Specs | Forbes

“The current 2023 Pure Aero range is designed for spin and control by having a less stiff frame and a slightly closed string pattern,” Olivier Carlier, Babolat’s tennis product expert, tells me. “The new Pure Aero Rafa range is designed for spin and power by having a stiffer shaft with a slightly more open string pattern.”

And if that wasn’t enough, fans of Nadal can go all-in on his near-exact specs with the Origin frame. “The Pure Aero Rafa Origin is as close to Rafa’s current specs as possible,” Carlier says. “The only difference between the Origin and the Pure Aero Rafa is the weight and a more open string pattern.”

VIDEO: Rublev and Thiem feel Rafa will defend his title at the French Open this year

Social media related to Rafa:

Y mientras tanto en Mallorca, sigue el trabajo… 🛠️

🎥 @RafaelNadal | @rnadalacademy pic.twitter.com/FJgSM5F35m

— ATP Tour en Español (@ATPTour_ES) April 8, 2023

Paula Badosa on United Cup with Nadal: “To play with Rafa watching is the toughest thing to do. At my match, I was praying for him not to come. It was 2-1 in 1st set & he appears. I was like ‘Don’t think that’s Rafa watching’ bc it’s very tough. Rafa is my idol since I was 5.” pic.twitter.com/HnF0I8IE0o

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 6, 2023

• Patrick Mouratoglou thinks Rafa will be ready to compete at his highest level in Paris:

“He knows if there is one he can win, it’s this one, more than any other. So all his program, whatever he’s done since the Australian Open, his number one goal is to win Roland Garros. So he will be ready. Rafa is a player that progresses match after match. He needs matches. The older he gets, the less matches he needs because the more he’s mastering his game. Most important for him will be movement, because it’s the base of his game. Originally, a player who was defending a lot, he’s not anymore. He has developed a lot of weapons. But still, movement is the base of his game.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by THE COACH (@patrickmouratoglou)