Will “Rafa” play? The question is on everyone’s lips on the eve of the opening match between Spain and the Netherlands, scheduled for Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. GMT).
At the end of a season in which he played little and a career punctuated by countless injuries, the state of form of Nadal, aged 38, raises questions.
His last appearance on court dates back to October, when he participated in a lucrative exhibition in Saudi Arabia.
In Malaga, “I will not go on court if I do not feel able to win the match,” warned the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles.
Whether Nadal plays or not, the elite of world tennis will be present at the edge of the hard courts of the Andalusian city to pay tribute to the king of clay, winner of 14 titles at Roland-Garros.
“All the tennis players who played in the same period want to be there. And athletes from other sports, from Spain and around the world, also want to be there,” Feliciano Lopez, director of the Davis Cup, said in early November.
In addition to the Swiss Roger Federer, eternal rival of the former world No.1, the co-holder of the record for Grand Slam titles (24) “Novak Djokovic posted on Instagram that he wanted to be there, Andy Murray too,” said underlined Feliciano Lopez.
“We plan to do something very special for him, we have to celebrate his career and his legacy,” he concluded.
On the professional circuit since 2001, the left-hander from Manacor arrived in Malaga on Thursday, T-shirt adorned with his famous cry of encouragement “Vamos!” (Come on!) on the chest.
From the airport, where he had his first autograph session of the week, Nadal went straight to training.
“For Spain and for Rafa”
Twenty years after his first victory in the Davis Cup with Spain in Seville, which made him the youngest winner in the history of the competition, the Mallorcan hopes to “come full circle” in Malaga, by winning the Silver salad bowl.
Third player in the world and often considered Nadal’s heir, his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz does not hide his ambition.
“We want to win the title for Spain”, recently bereaved by deadly floods, “and also for Rafa”, assured the last winner of Roland-Garros to the sports daily Marca.
In the event of a victory against the Netherlands, Spain could find Canada in the semi-final, winner in 2022 and opposed in the first round to Germany deprived of world No.2 Alexander Zverev.
Finalists of the last two editions, the Australians will have a lot to do on Thursday when they enter the competition against the United States, the most successful nation in the history of the competition with 32 coronations.
With Taylor Fritz, new world No.4 after his finalist place at the Masters, Tommy Paul (12th) and Ben Shelton (21st), the Americans hope to lift the trophy for the first time since 2007.
If they win against Australia, the United States will challenge either Argentina or Italy, the defending champion of Jannik Sinner, world No.1 and triumphant at the Masters, in the semi-final.
The start of the Davis Cup will overlap with the end of the BJK Cup, the final of which will be played on Wednesday.
By organizing the two events in the same city and partially on the same dates, the organizers hope to awaken spectators’ interest in these historic competitions, while tennis is struggling to attract younger generations.
Par Le360 (with AFP)
11/18/2024 at 9:31 a.m.
