On the first day of his last week as a professional, Rafa Nadal, along with the rest of the Spanish Davis Cup team, spoke to the media this Monday at the Hotel Higueron Resort in Fuengirola. In an atmosphere full of emotion for what will be his last blows as a tennis player, with 99% of the questions directed at him despite the fact that on his side were the captain, David Ferrer, and his teammates —Alcaraz, Bautista, Granollers and Pedro Martínez —, the Spaniard has not yet resolved this morning the question of whether he will play the individual on Tuesday in the tie against the Netherlands (5:00 p.m., Movistar+). “I don’t know how I can respond or I can’t respond, if I get to play the match,” said the winner of 22 majors, who has also addressed his farewell to the racket, a farewell that marks this year’s edition in Malaga. . “I haven’t ended up burned out from tennis like other people have, and I continue to enjoy it. If I could, I would continue playing tennis, but I don’t have the opportunity to play and train at a level that really compensates me on a personal level,” acknowledged Nadal, greatly hampered by injuries during his career.
The 14-time Roland Garros winner has suffered a physical ordeal, especially in the last two and a half years, since he won the Musketeers Cup in Paris in June 2022, his last Grand Slam and his last major title so far, although In the Andalusian city he has the opportunity to close his career with a trophy, the Davis Salad Bowl, which he has already won on five other occasions, the first in 2004, when he won his first grand prize. triumph as a professional. “I don’t have an ideal farewell. Movie endings are usually for American movies. I realized a long time ago that I wouldn’t have one of these. It’s not something that worries me. My farewell is going to be what it is going to be, and in that sense it would be fantastic to help the team, [ser] all very competitive trying to win the Davis Cup. And this, apart from the fact that it would be a nice farewell for me, would be a great joy for everyone,” he stated.
Asked if the emotions that retirement will generate in him could be a factor that influences his game, Nadal responded that he cannot predict it: “If I am on the court, I hope not, because I am not here to retire, I am here to help the player.” equipment. It’s my last week, but it’s a team competition, and the most important thing is to help, stay focused and do well. The rivals and conditions are difficult. Emotions are for last, in the meantime you have to be focused.”
The Manacor player assured on Friday in an interview with the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation that if he did not feel prepared to play the singles – Alcaraz will play one of the two singles, and there is also a doubles in case it is necessary to break the tie. —, would be the first to speak to Ferrer to tell him that he is not in a position to take to the court. “I have played very little on the circuit for a few months now, so I will try to do my best every day to arrive as well prepared as possible in case I am on the track. If I am the one who enters, I am sure that I will play with the maximum enthusiasm, with the maximum determination and I will try to give my maximum so that things go well. The rest is the work of David, who knows us all very well,” he insisted.
Ferrer has also not clarified whether Nadal will be chosen – the captain’s other option is to select Roberto Bautista, who had a formidable group stage in the Davis Cup last September in Valencia – tomorrow, Tuesday. “I still don’t know. You will know tomorrow. At the moment I have not decided who will play,” he noted.
Nadal trained for the first time on Friday on the center court of the José María Martín Carpena Sports Palace ahead of the tournament after arriving in Malaga on Thursday. Since then he has done it every day – this afternoon he will also jump onto the cement – in the middle of a city dedicated to supporting him in his last dance as a professional 23 years after he began his career in the elite.
