Rafael Nadal He is immersed in his preparation to compete in the Davis Cup Finals that will be held in Malaga from November 19 to 24 and will represent a retirement as a professional player that he naturally faces and knows his situation. “If I really don’t see myself ready to give the individual a chance to win, I’ll be the first to not want to play,” he said Friday.
The winner of twenty-two Grand Slams arrived in Malaga this Thursday and shortly after he worked out in the facilities of Sports Palace of Martín Carpena which for two weeks focuses on the most relevant events in world tennis. First in the final stage of the Billie Jean King Cup and then in the Davis Cup.
Nadal is part of the national team David Ferrer but he doesn’t want his impending retirement from tennis to affect the team’s competitive outlook. “First we have to see how I feel these days in training and if I really don’t see myself ready to have a chance to win the individual, I will be the first not to want to play,” Nadal said in an interview in the Real Spanish Tennis Federation.
The Spaniard, who has five of Spain’s six Davis Cup titles in his history, is excited to be back on the courts. His last presence in a tournament, aside from the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Riyadh, was the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“More or less I made a good preparation that’s why I’m here,” says the Spaniard. “You have to see on a daily basis, I haven’t competed for a long time and the truth is that I want to live this week no matter what. And in this sense, with the hope of closing a very nice and long phase of my life in the last moments with enthusiasm, with also normality and, well, from accepting what is the beginning and the end,” said Rafa Nadal.
Nadal, winner of twenty-two Grand Slams and for the past two years unable to compete normally due to injuries, has a special love for the Davis Cup and team events. “My first big joy as a professional tennis player, I think, was the Davis Cup in 2004,” recalled the 38-year-old from the Balearic Islands.
“So, as the circumstances have arisen, I have been presented with the opportunity to be here,” said the Spanish tennis player who still does not know his role in this Davis Cup Finals.
“First we have to see how I’m feeling these days in training and if I really don’t see myself ready to have a chance of winning the individual, I’m the first one who won’t want to play. If I don’t see myself ready, I will talk to the captain first,” Nadal insisted that he did not want the captain’s condition to be his last week as a professional. David Ferrer.
“I have told David on many occasions that they should not make any decisions based on what my last week as a professional tennis player was,” insisted the former world number one.
Nadal believes Spain has a chance to win the tournament, its seventh Davis Cup. “Of course there are options. There are always options. The thing is a hard surface. It’s a fast surface, really, but hey, anything can happen.”
The player of Manacor He looks back and is grateful for everything he has experienced and achieved in his career. “No, I can’t ask for anything more. I am more than grateful and satisfied with everything that happened to me in all these years,” he said.
“What I want is obviously for the team to perform well and have a chance to win another Davis Cup whether playing or cheering from the stands,” he said.
“I’m here to live this week with enthusiasm and then we’ll see what happens,” concluded Rafael Nadal days before his last performance as a professional.
Source: La Verdad
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