Marc Lopez told me Nadal is absolutely ready for Brisbane. But not sure if he…

Nadal, who underwent a hip surgery in June, is all set to make an injury
return in January at the Brisbane International

There was little buzz around the arrival of Carlos Gomez Ferre at the RK
Khanna Stadium on Sunday. The DLTA Complex was indeed all decked up for the
final day of the 2023 Pro Tennis League. There were a few food stalls and some
activities to keep the crowd engaged. Showing some mercy amid the cold Delhi
winter, the sun had decided to dish out a pleasant afternoon for the ardent
tennis community of the capital city that had flocked to Hauz Khas. One could
distinctly hear the fairly distributed spectators on Centre Court as Gurgaon
Sapphires took on Sankara Stag Babolat Yoddhas in the opening semifinal match.
But away from the hullabaloo of the tense clash, in one of the warm-up courts,
where the loud cheers from the boisterous onlookers had faded into oblivion,
Carlos was engaged in what was called a ‘tennis clinic’, comprising some 25-30
children.

The Spanish accent was fairly well-defined even from a distance as Carlos
instructed the kids to assemble. “Okay kids, we will have one last round of hit
now,” he said before the two-hour session came to an end. But the 41-year-old
was far from being free. A few autographs, lot many selfies, and a few parents
keen on his academy in Barcelona, kept the Spaniard occupied.

Carlos holds a notable position in the Spanish tennis community. Although he
had a brief professional career himself as a tennis player, Carlos is better
known for his association with Marc Lopez, whom he had coached to a career-high
doubles ranking of No. 3, but the one that sits atop his résumé, is witnessing
his apprentice clinch the Olympic gold in Rio 2016 along with the legendary .

That’s maybe one of my best achievements,” his eyes sparkled. “I can still
feel it, you know.”

Nadal, the 2008 Beijing singles champion, who battled from serious fitness
concerns to even make the Olympics, was made to wait for the elusive gold after
his Romanian opponents in Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau secured early break in
the second set, before holding serve to force a decider. Nadal and Lopez looked
a tad nervy in the third set, but stood toe-to-toe till 4-4. The Spaniards then
increased the pressure as they drew a crucial error, leaving the Romanians to
face a third match point. Megea and Tecau, whose two spectacular smashes helped
them bounce back from deuce a while earlier, erred in the third as Nadal and
Lopez scripted a valiant 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 triumph. It was Lopez’s maiden Olympic
win, while Nadal became only the second player to won a singles and doubles
gold medal in men’s tennis after Chile’s Nicolás Massú had recorded the feat in
2004 Athens.