Nadal: “We’ll see if I play the Davis Cup again”

“I’m getting older and I can’t be everywhere,” he said, after showing his satisfaction with the match against Casper Ruud

There is an evident melancholy in Rafael Nadal’s manifestations throughout this tournament. To the words he offered after losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second match of the ATP Finals, recalling his age and the imperative to continue to show himself emotionally irreducible, as he has done throughout his career, he added this Thursday, after saying goodbye with a convincing victory against Casper Ruud, other messages with the aroma of farewell.

“I wasn’t an option this year to play the Davis Cup. I wasn’t able to do everything that is required to defend my country. I’m getting older and I can’t be everywhere. We’ll see if I play the Davis Cup again, although I would like to be able to say goodbye to this competition”, he argued, highlighting the abilities of Roberto Bautista and Pablo Carreo to lead a competitive team in the Finals next week, in which the team led by Sergi Bruguera will play on Wednesday in the quarterfinals against Croatia. He also talked about the tour of Latin America that he will do at the end of the month: “Perhaps it will be my only presence there.”

Nadal hopes to be in Australia around December 27 to play the United Cup, as filming for the first big one of 2023, which starts on January 16, but, he added with a smile, “my life has changed a bit and I no longer drink unilateral decisions”, in a comment related to his recent paternity.

Defense of the ‘Big three’

Asked about the few points that have been needed this year to finish as number 1 in the world, he said: “That puts into perspective all the things that Novak, Roger and I have done for so many years.”. He left satisfied with the victory against Ruud, considering it a reward for his good attitude in training on Wednesday, when he was already eliminated from the tournament.

Before the press conference, his coach, Carlos Moy, took stock of the tournament before a group of Spanish journalists: “Ending up winning isn’t bad. He has shown his face and played the best game of the week.” Moy, accompanied on this trip by Francis Roig and Marc López, who complement the technical team of the number two in the world, highlighted that on this occasion Nadal had not approved his good performance in training until the last day on the track. “It has been difficult for him to play. It is not usual for him. He had adapted well to the surface.”

The most striking thing about his speech came when he was asked about Nadal’s physical condition, who on the court has not shown any signs of suffering from any problems. “On a day-to-day basis, you sometimes see many things that make you understand others, but we are not in favor of exposing them. Pain is more or less well.”

Moy, who sees Djokovic “a bit above the rest”, pointed out the peculiarities of this tournament. “Here the first day you get a top 8. The lack of parties has been noted. Here, on these courts, there are very few opportunities, and if you don’t take advantage of them, the game slips away.”