Spanish tennis player Roberto Bautista, 20 in the world, affirmed this Sunday that he sees his compatriot Rafael Nadal “as a candidate” for the title of champion at Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the season. “Rafa is always a candidate in any tournament he plays,” Bautista assured EFE, who will play in the Mallorca Championschip after reappearing last week in the ATP 500 tournament in Halle (Germany) after being unemployed for almost three months due to tendonitis in a wrist.
the castellonian was eliminated in the Halle grass quarterfinals by the number one in the world, the Russian Daniil Medveded, with whom he could meet again at the Mallorca Country Club. Bautista, who has also had to overcome difficult moments due to wrist discomfort, praised Nadal’s attitude towards the chronic injury that the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles suffers in his left foot, the last one at Roland Garros.
“Rafa the truth is that he is a player who has played many games and worked on his body. It is normal for him to experience a lot of aches and pains. He is a player who has exceeded the limits of normal. Perhaps he is the one with the greatest capacity for sacrifice to overcome difficult moments, ”said the 34-year-old tennis player from Benlloch, winner of 10 ATP titles and semifinalist at Wimbledon in 2010.
Bautista, fifth seeded in Mallorca, He wants to go “match by match” on the island after having given up the Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and Roland Garros tournaments. “We come from a difficult season being almost 3 months unemployed. I think I made a good start in competition last week in Halle playing three games. Here the truth is that the draw is very hard, very complicated because there are very good grass players. I have to focus on myself, go game by game so that the tournament adds me in terms of preparation”, Roberto Bautista remarked.
