Rafael Nadal admits he is ’emotionally ready’ for retirement
Rafael Nadal has claimed that he is ’emotionally ready’ to wave farewell to professional tennis next month, but has cast doubt over whether he will compete in singles at the Davis Cup Finals.
Nadal has been in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this week for the Six Kings Slam exhibition event. where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals last night.
After the straight sets defeat, Nadal was full of praise for his compatriot, “It’s been a pleasure. Carlos was too good. He’s been playing fantastic the last few years, better and better.
“I think it was a good performance [from myself], but it wasn’t even enough to play against an animal like him.”
The next time that the pair may be on the same court together is at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month, where Nadal will retire from professional tennis.
Spanish captain David Ferrer has previously suggested that Nadal will play singles in Malaga, but the man himself has casted some doubt over that.
“Emotionally, I’m sure I’ll be ready. Physically and in terms of tennis level, there remains a month left to prepare,” said Nadal. “I will try to be in good shape to help the team to win. If I don’t feel ready for the singles, I’ll be the first one to say. Be 100% sure, I will not be on court if I don’t feel ready to win my match.”
Mil gracias a todos
Many thanks to all
Merci beaucoup à tous
Grazie mille à tutti
谢谢大家
شكرا لكم جميعا
תודה לכולכם
Obrigado a todos
Vielen Dank euch allen
Tack alla
Хвала свима
Gràcies a tots pic.twitter.com/7yPRs7QrOi— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) October 10, 2024
Spain take on the Netherlands in their quarter-final match on 19th November, but before then Nadal will take on Novak Djokovic in the third placed match in Riyadh.
And the 38-year-old appears to be looking forward to one final match with his biggest rival, “To have Novak in front [of me], it’s like a nostalgic thing. We’ve played each other a lot, so it’ll be fun to play each other again one more time in this match. Hopefully we can create a good show and a good level of entertainment.”
Nadal and Djokovic will play each other for one final time tomorrow, ahead of the Six Kings Slam final between the aforementioned Alcaraz and World No.1 Jannik Sinner, with a whopping $6million on the line.
Inside the baseline…
Rafael Nadal is such a realist in situations like this, and although all of the attention will be on him in Malaga, he will not want to hold Spain back from succeeding in the Davis Cup Finals. Nadal is obviously known for his singles prowess, but he is also a very handy doubles player as a former Olympic champion and will be useful in at least that capacity if he does not feel upto taking to the singles court
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