The Spanish Rafael Nadal assured that he faces his participation at Roland Garros with the necessary motivation to face the tournament, while ensuring that “although there are options” he cannot “ensure that it will be the last.”
The fourteen-time winner of the tournament assured that for the first time he has been able to train without feeling discomfort, which makes him hope to be competitive starting next Monday, when in the first round he crosses his racket with that of the German Alexander Zverev, world number 4.
But he acknowledged that he has only been in that good condition for a short time, which deprives him of references to know if it will be enough to compete with the recent winner of Rome.
“I have a small hope of playing well,” said the Spaniard, who attributed it to physical work, which has also influenced his motivation.
“How do I get there? I don’t know. A week and a half ago I made a mess in Rome. The rest is speculation. Internally I feel better, in every way, physically too, but one of the worst draws possible,” she acknowledged.
“The sensations tell me that I am not that far away. I am not a person who usually deceives myself, I am critical of myself, I am not perfect, I need to improve. These days I have been competitive with good, important people. “I can play against anyone and I don’t feel worse than the others, that gives me hope,” added the Spaniard, who has trained these days with Daniil Medvedev, Hoger Rune, Stan Wawrinka, among others.
“But that’s in training,” he warned, before pointing out that he hasn’t faced a rival of Zverev’s stature in competition for a long time.
His plan, he said, was to have the current level a month and a half ago, to face the clay court tour from Monte Carlo in better conditions, but his physical condition did not allow it, which means he lacks training.
Rafael Nadal does not want tributes
Nadal acknowledged that these last two years have not been easy, that the recovery has been hard and that, at times, affected his morale, which made him think that he would not be able to return to the slopes.
“I don’t want a tribute on the track. If I lose, it will be natural with the public. But I don’t want to close the door for the future., there’s no need. If I don’t come back to play, I will come back here next year for whatever needs to be done,” he said.
“I enjoy tennis, I come with my family, I make them enjoy it. I have not been able to study in depth whether I will be able to play in good health conditions. Give me a little time, maybe in a month and a half I will say that I can’t continue, now I can’t say for sure, but there are options,” she said.
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