Rafael Nadal and his family dream of French Open 2023 glory, says Spaniard's uncle Toni

Rafael Nadal and his family are dreaming of French Open glory already, revealed the Spaniard's uncle Toni in a recent interview. Toni also feels that his nephew definitely has the mentality to make that dream come true.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion has played just four matches all year, winning one and losing three. That solitary win came in the first round of the Australian Open, where he sustained a hip injury in the following round that has kept him out of action since.

Yet to play on clay this year, the World No. 14 will arrive in Paris with a sore lack of match practice, with only the Italian Open in Rome left for him to participate in. After missing out on the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open, Nadal also pulled out of the Madrid Open, citing that he was not yet physically at 100%.

Touching on all that in his interview with RTVE, Toni Nadal, who coached his nephew to 16 Grand Slam titles between 1990 and 2017, admitted that he will not be far from being the favorite at Roland Garros this year:

“Rafael is recovering, I think it is not long before he can compete again, but in the tournament here he could not be," he said. "This is one of the tournaments that makes him play the most excited, but we will have to wait for another year."

At the same time, the 62-year-old did not rule out the possibility of the southpaw outdoing expectations. He declared that if he can reach the second week of the tournament, the 14-time winner will make himself one of the top contenders for the title once again.

"I have said it many times that they have interviewed me. Nadal in the second week is already a favorite. Lately in the first ones he is not, he was not last year in Australia, but from the second week we can already count on.

"His family and he dream of it and I think he has the mentality to achieve it," he said.

---

Rafael Nadal is not going to arrive at Roland Garros with a good preparation, we do not have to fool ourselves: Spaniard's uncle Toni

Previews - Nitto ATP World Tour Finals

Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni also admitted that his nephew will be coming into the French Open without a good preparation, having not played since January this year.

However, he pointed to his track record with injuries, remarking that the 22-time Grand Slam champion has a knack for picking up from where he left off and start winning right away.

Under these circumstances, Toni Nadal is of the opinion that the draw will be a very big factor, adding that anything can happen if the Mallorcan gets blessed with a favorable one.

"Obviously he is not going to arrive at Roland Garros with a good preparation, we do not have to fool ourselves. Since January 10 he hasn't played matches, he hasn't competed for a long time, before Australia he didn't play many matches either, but Nadal picks up speed right away and in a Grand Slam it depends a lot on the draw," he said.

"If you are lucky enough to have an affordable draw in the first rounds, then anything can be.”

The former World No. 1 will be the defending champion at this year's edition in Roland Garros, having won the title last year after beating Casper Ruud in the final.