Rafael Nadal returns to play for Conde de Godó and could only meet Alcaraz in the semifinals

Rafael Nadal He will put his shoes back on to tread the clay court that saw him become champion 12 times. The Spaniard will return to the circuit to compete in the ATP 500 Count of Godóin Barcelona, ​​​​where he will make his debut against the Italian Flavio Cobolli (64°) and would only be measured at Carlos Alcarazthird in the world ranking and champion of the last two editions, in the semifinals.

“I’m happy to be here. Barcelona has given me so much joy, I’ve been through a lot of times in my life and this is my club. Spending days here, seeing the people and being able to train with the players is a joy,” said the Majorcan after the draw for the competition which will take place from 14 to 21 April.

The Spanish of 37 years old and 22 Grand Slam titles on his CV, which prepares his return to the court from Wednesday at RCT Barcelona, ​​​​he suffered a thigh injury in the Brisbane tournament in January and since then he has had to withdraw successively from several tournaments, such as the Australian Open, Doha , Indian Wells, Miami or, more recently, the Monte Carlo Masters 1000.

If he were to start winning, Rafa would face one of the most challenging matches of the second round against the fourth seed and fourth finalist of the last Monte Carlo Masters 1000, the Australian Alex de Minaur.

In the last two years, injuries have marked Nadal’s career, to the point of putting him on the brink of retirement. Now his big goal for 2024 is Roland Garros, the Parisian tournament where he built his legend with 14 titles, before finally participating in the Paris Olympic Games. And Barcelona presents itself as a first step towards these two objectives.

The Murcian AlcarazMeanwhile, he had to give up Monte Carlo due to a small injury to his right arm which, in principle, will not prevent him from defending the title, and he will make his debut next Wednesday against the winner of the match between the French Luca Van Assche and the Chinese Zhizhen Zhang.

David Ferrer, director of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell-Trofeo Conde de Godó, said he was optimistic about the Spaniards’ participation in the tournament. He had in fact underlined that Nadal “made the effort to come and try the center court”.