The Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal assured this Wednesday that “it is already good news” that he is going to play a third tournament in a row, the Masters 1000 in Rome, and stressed that his “feelings” are “better” and that his ” level” of tennis is “growing”.
“I am excited about the idea of playing a tournament that makes me remember many beautiful and unforgettable moments. This is my third consecutive week on the circuit and that is something that has not happened to me in a long time, so it is already good news,” Nadal said in a press conference reported on the tournament website.
The Balearic player needs to “continue at this pace and continue exploring to what extent” he can manage it “on a daily basis.” “But I’m happy with how I feel today. I feel excited and lucky to be able to play here at this stage of my career, and I feel motivated for tomorrow, Thursday,” he admitted.
“What sensations will I feel at Roland Garros? I don’t have a clear answer at the moment, first I want to play in Rome, it’s the tournament now and I don’t think about what will come next,” he said when asked about the Parisian ‘great’. “I want to enjoy every day because I still enjoy playing tennis. It all depends on my body and how far I can think of pushing myself, but I am satisfied with what I am doing,” he added.
Nadal made it clear that if he is thinking about retiring it is not because he doesn’t like “playing tennis” or because he doesn’t feel “competitive.” “It’s just because my body no longer allows me to play for consecutive weeks or train having fun every day,” confessed the winner of 22 Grand Slams.
The one from Manacor does not hide that “there comes a time when all this no longer makes sense”, especially because “the pain and injuries” that prevent him from “enjoying” and “doing things the right way every day”, but he tried to be optimistic. “It is almost impossible for me to continue being successful or continue fighting for the things that motivate me the most, but this is the third consecutive week on the circuit and it is a good moment even if the results are not what I am used to. It is a feeling that I feel like it’s growing, as well as the level of my game,” he noted.
As he already indicated in Madrid last week, the former world number one reiterated that he “never” lives “two days the same” at this moment and that it is not “a straight line but rather a curve made of ups and downs.” “Even after Barcelona and in Madrid I had some bad moments, and the same here on the first day, but seen from a more general perspective, it is a performance curve that is rising and there is no doubt that I am happy to be where I am today because just a month ago it was impossible to just think about playing in Barcelona and then in Madrid and again in Rome,” he warned.
“Something is changing. I accepted this challenge and the fact that I can no longer push as I would like, but doing things the right way, trying to avoid unnecessary risks during matches, has allowed me to keep moving,” celebrated the Spanish tennis player. .
For him, his time at the Caja Mágica, where he played four games, was “a good test.” “I managed to play two games in two days, one of which lasted more than three hours. My feelings are better, also from a game point of view. I’m here to try to do my thing,” said the Spaniard.
“This Thursday is a new beginning. All the matches for me now are more difficult and unpredictable than I was used to, especially on clay, but I accept this role and I am excited to know how far I can go by continuing to do things the way correct,” Nadal said.
Finally, the ten-time champion at the Foro Italico acknowledged that this stage gives him “great satisfaction” and that he has played “beautiful matches” there in his first two titles against Guillermo Coria (2005) and against Roger Federer (2006). “It is a tournament that is part of the history of our sport and is very important on the circuit,” he said.