Rafael Nadal, 37 years old and world number 644 (he entered as number 9, the ranking protected by the serious and long-term injury to his iliac psoas), he announced in his (crowded) appearance before the media that he will reappear to play the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell-71st Trophy Count of Godó.
“I’m going to be on the track. For me it’s a gift to be able to be in Barcelona, I take it as my last year and I want to enjoy every moment. That’s why it has a more special feeling,” he said. He elaborated that “in life there is an end. I don’t know if it will be my last participation, but that is my current feeling. I am happy to be here, it is a gift. I want to enjoy it without giving up being competitive, I don’t take it as a tribute. I will go out to do my best, to give myself opportunities.”
He did it the day before facing his match against the Italian Flavio Cobolli, 21 years old and world number 62, debutant in the tournament. It will be this Tuesday afternoon (around 4 pm), 1,087 dayss after having lifted the Conde de Godó Trophy for the twelfth time, in the 2021 final against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Have passed 681 days since he played his previous official match on clay, dominating the Norwegian Casper Ruud to win his fourteenth Roland Garros, in 2022.
It will be his second tournament of the season, after suffering a muscle injury to his iliopsoas last January in Brisbane, which was later followed by another to his abdominal.
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He lives with physical problems, which he would prefer to deal with in silence. It has become a recurring theme, too much for her liking. “There is no need to talk too much about injuries. I don’t feel like it. I explained about my abs in Seville because my uncle had mentioned it. In my statement I only said that I couldn’t play. I’m tired of telling about my hardships. when I have no reason on a personal level,” he said.
He noted that “Fear? What else can happen? Affects, yes; fear, no, respect, yes, and? We will continue forward until I have the feeling that it is not worth it. I do not set a deadline. Life suits you marking your path. Affect, no fear, yes respect, and?
He ended up detailing, regarding care with the abdominals, that “I have gained very little in these months but we will try to assume the loads progressively. My sensations here have been better than those I have had in Mallorca and I feel ready to compete. But everything It’s an uncertainty.”
Rafa Nadal’s press conference prior to his reappearance at the Godó
Manel Montilla / Own
It goes “day by day, I can’t plan anything. Coming here was a bit of a last minute decision. There are bad days, but they make up for the good days, when I have fun. I continue to enjoy myself, with enthusiasm.”
The king of clay takes it as a possible goodbye to the track Rafael Nadal, at 37 years old, in his club, RCT Barcelona-1899. In his seventeenth participation. He opened the account in 2003, when he was 16 years old. He has won 66 of 70 matches played.
Asked about the loss of Carlos Alcaraz, the impossibility of a semifinal clash between them, Rafa Nadal assured that “I am not capable of thinking about the semifinals. My feelings are positive, but at the moment I am in.”
Regarding the Murcian, “he recovers well and quickly. I feel bad for him and it is bad news for the tournament, he was number one in the draw and he is Spanish.”
2024-04-15 14:56:35
#track #Godó
