Rafa Nadal is immersed in his preparation to participate in the final of the Davis Cup 2024 which will be played in Malaga from November 19 to 24 and will mean a retirement as a professional player which he faces naturally and conscious of his situation. “If I really don’t see myself ready to have a chance to win individually, I’m the first to not want to play,” he said this Friday.
The winner of 22 Great Slams He arrived in Malaga this Thursday and shortly after he exercised in the facilities of the Sports Palace Martin Carpena which concentrates the most important events in world tennis for two weeks. First with the final phase of the cup Billie Jean King and later with the Davis Cup.
Nadal is part of the national team David Ferrerbut he doesn’t want his upcoming tennis farewell to affect the team’s competitive prospects. “First we have to see how I feel these days in training and if I really don’t feel ready to have a chance to win individually, I will be the first not to want to play,” Nadal said. stated in an interview with the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation.
The Spaniard, who owns five of the six Davis Cup titles in its history, is delighted to return to the courts. His last presence in a tournament, outside the exhibition of Riyadh Six Kings Slamare the Paris Olympic Games.
Nadal and the Davis Cup final
“I more or less managed to do a good preparation, that’s why I’m here,” said the Spaniard. “You have to see on a daily basis, I haven’t competed for a while and the reality is that I want to live this week, whatever happens. And in this sense, with the hope of closing a very beautiful and long stage of my life, living these last moments with enthusiasm, also with normality and, finally, with the acceptance of what is a beginning and an end” , says Rafa Nadal.
Nadal, winner of twenty-two Grand Slam tournaments and who has been unable to compete normally for the past two years due to injuries, has a special love affair with the Davis Cup and team events. “I think my first big joy as a professional tennis player was the Davis Cup in 2004,” recalls the 38-year-old from the Balearic Islands. “So as the circumstances presented themselves, I had the opportunity to be here,” said the Spanish tennis player who still does not know what role he will have in this Davis Cup final.
“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 individually, I’m the first to not want to play. If I don’t feel ready, I’m the first to talk to the captain about it,” stressed Nadal, who doesn’t want this to be his last week as a professional to condition captain David Ferrer.
“I have already told David several times that they should not make any decisions based on my last week as a professional tennis player,” 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 fact is that these are difficult surfaces. It’s a really fast surface, but hey, anything can happen.”
The Spaniard is realistic with his physique
The player of Manacor He looks back and is grateful for everything he has experienced and accomplished during his career. “No, I can’t ask for anything more. “I am beyond grateful and satisfied with everything that has happened to me over the years,” he said.
“What I would obviously like is for the team to perform well and have a chance to win one more Davis Cup, whether playing or cheering from the stands,” he noted. “I am here to live this week with enthusiasm and then we will see what happens,” concluded Rafa Nadal a few days before his last performance as a professional.
