MALAGA, Spain – “I don’t know if I will play a match or not,” said Rafael Nadal on Monday, who is preparing to bow out after the Davis Cup finals in Malaga that Spain opens Tuesday against The Netherlands.
“There is no ideal ending. Ideal endings usually occur in American films. […] What I want is for the team to be competitive and to be able to win the Davis Cup. My best goodbye would be the joy of winning with everyone. But I don’t know if I will play a match or not. I have played very little lately,” warned the 38-year-old Mallorcan, on the eve of the opening match scheduled for Tuesday.
When asked, Spain captain David Ferrer said he did not know “yet” whether he would play Nadal on Tuesday.
“If I’m on court, I hope I can control my emotions. I’m not here to retire. I’m here to help the team win. It’s my last week of competition, as a team, and the most important thing is to help the team. The emotions will come at the end. Before and after, I will concentrate on what I have to do,” explained the former world number one, who announced last October that he wanted to retire at the end of the competition (November 19-24).
“I’ve been trying to work as hard as I can for the past month and a half. I try to prepare as best I can for this event. When you play little competitively, it is difficult to maintain a constant level. But the improvement is there every day, I believe in it,” he added.
In Malaga, “I will not enter the court if I do not feel able to win the match,” warned the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, whose last appearance on a court dates back to October, when he participated in a lucrative exhibition in Saudi Arabia.
“Rafa” had also suggested that he could, as in the Olympic Games, concentrate on the doubles with Carlos Alcaraz and not line up in the singles.
Whether he plays or not, the winner of 14 titles at Roland-Garros, considered in Spain as the greatest sportsman in the country’s history, will receive a major tribute in Andalusia, where the elite of Tennis (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray…) is expected.
“We plan to do something very special for him, we have to celebrate his career and his legacy,” warned Feliciano Lopez, director of the Davis Cup.
