Rafael Nadal is ready to skip singles matches to focus on doubles and even not play at all for the good of the team if that is the wish of his captain, he reaffirms this Monday. The former world No. 1 is preparing to bow out. Spain begins the final phase of the Davis Cup against the Netherlands this Tuesday.
The Bull of Manacor is about to enter the stage for one last lap. If nothing allows us to confirm at this time that he will play the final phase of the Davis Cup (November 19-24) which Spain begins this Tuesday against the Netherlands, Rafael Nadal will participate in one way or another. another at this meeting. For the last event of his extraordinary career as a tennis player, on his Spanish lands, in Malaga, Rafael Nadal prepared for all eventualities, including that of not playing.
“There is no ideal ending,” he said this Monday, while participating in a press conference for his team, on the eve of the quarter-final. “Ideal endings usually happen in American films. It's not something that worries me in that sense. My farewell will be whatever it will be. What I want is for the team to be competitive and that she can win the Davis Cup I don't know if I will play a match or not I have played very little lately.
“I save the emotions for last”
His last appearance on a tennis court dates back to October, when he participated in the Six Kings Slam, a very lucrative exhibition organized in Saudi Arabia, the first edition of which was held in Riyadh last month. The last time he played a very high level singles match, at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Nadal was outclassed (6-1, 6-4) by Novak Djokovic in the first round. Rafael Nadal could skip singles matches to focus on doubles. Whatever his captain's decision, the record holder for victories at Roland-Garros (14) knows that the atmosphere will be special for this capital tribute that the world of tennis and an entire country have in store for him, with the expected presence of Roger Federer .
Will he be able to contain his emotions, having cried all the tears in his body when his greatest rival ended his career? “I don’t know, I can’t predict what will happen,” Rafael Nadal said. “If I'm on the court, I hope I control myself because I'm here to help the team. Of course it will be my last week on the professional circuit. But we are here in a team competition. The most important thing is to help the team, to stay focused on what we have to do. The rivalry is strong, the playing conditions are difficult. The emotions, I save them for the end. Before and during, I will try to stay focused on what I have to do.”
“I have this possibility of finishing at home and it’s great,” explained the world No. 1 who announced in October his desire to stop in Malaga. “Everyone knows how much I love my country in general. I have never been tempted to leave the country because I love living here. And playing my last competition in Spain is something I am very happy. Thanks to the guys for being able to qualify in Valencia in September, I have the chance to enjoy this last moment of my tennis career being with them, being with the team and playing in Spain, it. It's something very special, right? Because I will never have the opportunity to thank everyone here in Spain enough, the support I have received and the love I have always felt from the media. , the public, the children, I always had good relationships with them so I was very lucky to be able to enjoy everything I enjoyed and to feel the way I felt all these years. . I felt very loved, it's something very special.”
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