The calendar Grand Slam remains a "realistic goal" for Rafael Nadal, but he will not lose sleep over the holy grail in tennis as he prepares for Wimbledon.
That is the message from Carlos Moya, who is a former world number one and has coached Nadal since 2016.
Nadal made an incredible comeback at the start of 2022 from a foot injury that has plagued much of his career, winning the Australian Open before claiming another French Open crown.
The 36-year-old surpassed Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the men's all-time grand slam wins list with victory in Melbourne, with Roland Garros success representing his 22nd major title.
Nadal has repeatedly played down the prospect of winning all four men's majors in a calendar year, with Rod Laver the last to do so all the way back in 1969.
While the calendar Grand Slam remains on the cards, Moya warned Nadal is only halfway to completing the illustrious haul as the Spaniard heads to Wimbledon.
"It is a realistic goal, right now he is the only one that can achieve it this year," Moya told Eurosport Spain.
"It is the first time in his career that he is in a position to achieve it, but we see it as something far away, it is only halfway.
"At the moment he doesn't lose sleep, as a team few things keep us up at night and this is not one of them.
"We have to go little by little, it is not something that we talk about, it is not a primary objective, although we are not going to give up on it."
Nadal revealed in Paris that he intended to have radiofrequency injections to boost his hopes of competing at the All England Club, and he has undergone two courses of said treatment.
Wimbledon starts on Monday, a tournament that Nadal has won in 2008 and 2010, but he has not played there since reaching the semi-finals in 2019.
Nadal ramped up his preparations with a week training on grass in Mallorca before playing an invitation event at Hurlingham Club this week, where he faced Stan Wawrinka on Wednesday.
"We had a pretty good week of training in Mallorca, although the grass there is a bit different from London, maybe that's why it's taking a little bit for him to adapt to the grass in England," Moya added.
"Right now, the important thing is that he spends time on the court and that his foot is fine, little by little he will pick up the pace, we also hope that the draw will help, especially in the first games.
"At Wimbledon there can always be more surprises. Regardless of the player you get in those first rounds, what is dangerous is the type of opponent you get, you have to be careful with the sluggers.
"Now he has two important exhibition matches, my confidence in him for Wimbledon remains the highest. He is perfectly suited to grass."
Alcaraz begins Madrid Open campaign with emphatic win
Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.
The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.
Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.
But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.
Data Debrief
Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.
That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.
Reigning champion Sabalenka pushed by Linette at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.
Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.
The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.
"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."
Data Debrief
Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.
Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.
Rybakina continues clay winning streak with victory over Bronzetti
In-form Elena Rybakina has moved into the last 32 of the Madrid Open after a straight sets victory over Italian Lucia Bronzetti.
Number four seed Rybakina triumphed 6-4 6-3 on Friday and will next face either Marta Kostyuk or Mayar Sherif.
Rybakina was broken early in each set but ultimately had few problems getting over the line, converting four of her five break points to continue an impressive run of results after winning the Stuttgart Open last week.
She has now won five consecutive WTA matches and has 13 straight wins on clay courts to her name in a superb streak that started one year ago.
Data Debrief: Rybakina in elite company
Since the start of 2020, only two other players have claimed as many 13 consecutive WTA wins on clay, and they are Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep, so Rybakina is in elite company.
Rybakina's last defeat on this surface came in the 2023 edition of the Madrid Open, when she fell to Anna Kalinskaya in her first match, so this win represented a better start to her campaign in the Spanish capital.
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