Still fully recovered from his hip injury that kept him off the slopes all year, Rafael Nadal It faces the beginning of its development with sights set for next year, with enthusiasm but without haste and without a set date.
The Balearic tennis player, winner of twenty-two Grand Slam titles, reappeared in the presentation of a new business project, NDL Ro Health with Cantabria Labs in Madrid, where he gave an interview to Agencia EFE where , among other things, He admitted that he was surprised by the performance of Novak Djokovic, whom he congratulated and acknowledged his merit, in a year in which the Serbian won three Grand Slam titles and in which Carlos Alcaraz stood out -only the best of his generation.
– Question: Rafa, how are you feeling?
+ Answer: “I feel good, on a personal level good and enthusiastic. Also with this new project. In the end, sport, health, now is something more the order of the day. People are more with awareness. More than when I started. Therefore, I believe that supplementation can be more effective in all aspects of sport, both at professional and amateur level as well as, pre, during and post, with good nutrition and supplementation one has “the right energy to continue and perform better and in a happier way”
“And on a personal level, good. Happy. I am working to try to recover well and as soon as possible, but with the peace of mind that we have been stopped for a long time and taking things as I have to take them, take it easy.”
– Q: Are the statements of the director of the Australian Open, Craig Tiley, that his participation in the first Grand Slam of the course is certain?
+ A: “Yes, a little daring. I have a very good relationship with him and I understand his enthusiasm and also that of the Australian Open, which is certainly less than what I have about going there. But from there I say that I am going Being in the Australian Open seems very complicated to say now. In fact, I don’t know and I’m trying to recover. So, the way I understand my moment is that I don’t need dates, but I need “Just work every day with enthusiasm and the right mindset to try to recover.”
“If I set dates and I don’t keep them, I’m adding disappointments that I don’t need, because I’ve already had enough disappointments on a sports and physical level in recent times. So I don’t have to set any dates ; I’m doing my day and I’m actually getting better. I’m better now than a month ago and I hope in a month and a half I can tell the news, I’m going there or I’ I’ll go there.”
– Q: Although, immediately got a little attention that you still feel discomfort, that the pain has not gone away. There is a lot of desire for it to reappear, people are waiting for it to come.
+ A: “Logically I have discomfort. I had hip surgery, they had to do a very invasive, very complicated operation, and having discomfort is part of the equation and the discomfort is more bearable now that this week is over . . And this is the positive. Let’s not just say that I have discomfort, because in the end let’s stay that I have less discomfort than in previous weeks and this is what I see.
– Q: What have you missed the most in all this time away from the slopes?
+ A: “I haven’t been able to miss the competition much. I have a theory and it is that you can miss things when you feel like you can be there, right? When you see that you can’t, because physically you can’t well, one cannot miss competing. You have to live day to day and I tried to be happy with what I have had and I think I have achieved it in my day to day life. About competition? In the end I am a man I’m competitive but not just in tennis, it’s hard for me not to play golf, which at the end of the day is a form of competition, it’s hard for me not to be competitive doing other things and obviously in tennis I miss being on the circuit, being able to compete, feeling like a player, going to the best tracks with a whole stadium; of course I miss it but I can’t live with it.”
– Q: Is it easier to have a child at home?
+ A: “I have always taken things well. But in that sense, of course having a child at home who is also the first is always special, because of course it makes you happy in many moments. But I think that without it there will also be I hope It is good, because I have accepted it and tolerated it well throughout my life. But without a doubt it helps and gives me happiness.
– Q: “Has anything caught your attention especially this season?
+ A: “No, no. In the end we all know that Djokovic is what he is and he has achieved something historic, something that has never been achieved before and all that remains is to congratulate him and in the end no . surprise me too.”
– Q: Did you expect so much difference between Djokovic and the others?
+ A: “No, not really. I thought this year, on a personal level and not as a player, I thought that… I didn’t think about Djokovic… I imagined that Djokovic won the Grand Slam but I don’t imagine that I will win three because I think there is another young generation that is very powerful.
Well, I think Carlos (Alcaraz) had a good chance at Roland Garros to stop Djokovic from winning three but unfortunately what happened to him happened to him physically, although he eventually recovered and achieved something historic for our sport, at Wimbledon and fun for it. “The season has been going on, I think that in the end what happened is not too surprising.”
– Q: It seems that Carlos Alcaraz is the only one of his generation who can face Djokovic, the others fall even if they are on the same level.
+ A: “No. I believe that Carlos is higher than the others and the truth is that Novak has enormous merit and we must congratulate him for everything he does, which is what I said before, something that never done before. I think there are other high level players like Jannik Sinner, like others, Holger Rune who started well is worse now… But hey, in the end, the winner is always very difficult in every way and you have to appreciate what they all do”
– Q: Will we see you with Carlos Alcaraz in Paris, at the Olympic Games?
+ A: “I hope so, I don’t know.”
– Q: But the Olympic Games are an illusion for you, right?
+ A: “If I’m okay and he likes me, I’ll be happy.”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
