The Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal was optimistic this Wednesday with his state of form and assured that “he is happy”, that he “enjoys” tennis and that the situation has changed a lot compared to a month ago, when he was unable to play in Barcelona. , Madrid and Rome consecutively.
“I spent several days at home resting after Madrid, I came to Rome and was able to train. Excited to play here, where I have unforgettable moments. It’s my third tournament in a row and that’s good news. I have to continue seeing it day by day, but I am happy with how I feel,” he declared at a press conference at the Foro Italico.
The tennis player from Manacor fell in Madrid in the round of 16, although he positively reflects on his improvement these days and clarified that he enjoys playing.
“It is a good moment even though the results are not good. I’m enjoying playing, by the way. I am happy doing what I do. When I talk about retirement, it’s not because I’m no longer happy playing or I don’t feel competitive enough. It’s about the fact that the body was not capable of playing for weeks in a row, it was not capable of allowing myself to train and enjoy training on a day-to-day basis,” he insisted.
Regarding his improvement, he said: “My evolution is not the same every day. Even after Barcelona, ??I had some difficult moments in Madrid. Even here on the first day.”
“But in a general perspective, the line is upward, without a doubt. So yes, happy to be where I am today because a month ago for me it was almost impossible to think that I could play in Barcelona, ??then in Madrid, and now be here in Rome,” he commented.
Nadal, the most successful player in Rome with 10 titles and one of the most loved by the Italian public, has great memories of his first titles on the Italian clay court, when the best of 5 sets were played.
“The best memory is the first. The indelible moments are always the best of 5 and I miss playing the 1,000 to 5 Masters. That’s why I have better memories of the finals against Coria and Federer,” he explained.
“It’s a great feeling, the public is very passionate. This tournament is part of the history of our sport and I feel lucky to be playing here. “I am very motivated,” he added.
In addition, he spoke about the wave of injuries that has left the tournament without the Italian Jannik Sinner and the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz: “The injuries have always been there. That’s the truth. I understand that for you (Italian) that Jannik is not playing here is terrible news, especially because of how he is playing this year.”
“If we want to talk about why people get injured, I say it very clearly: when you push your body to the limit, you eventually get injured. When tennis gets faster and faster, you get injured. When you play most of the year on hard courts and the surfaces are harder on the body, you get injured. That is the simple answer,” she declared.
“Then there is the other world. The one with the tournaments. That’s about the business, about the sport itself. That’s another conversation. In the end, players want to win money. The tournaments want to make money. So it’s the whole cycle that comes together. We accept that role,” he noted.
“I missed many important tournaments, very important in my career due to injuries. As a player you can’t complain about that. You accept what happens. You keep going. If you get injured, you have to recover well,” he recalled.
“They are young. They are going to have a lot of opportunities to play in Rome and have a lot of success here. There’s no drama. The tournament will survive even without Carlos and Jannik who are super important players for any event today. Especially for Italy, not having Jannik playing here after everything he represents in this country today, I think it’s terrible news. Even for me as a spectator, as a colleague of his, I feel very sad for him because he deserves to play here,” he expressed.
“I wish him, and Carlos of course, all the best and I hope to meet them at Roland Garros,” he said.
