Rafael Nadal appeared in a special television interview in which he reiterated that his desire is to become competitive in the sport again and to step away from tennis in 2024.
spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal He said that his hope is to “play again” and feel “competitive” again, and that, as he has already said, 2024 will “probably” be his last year, but that he wants it to be “100 percent.” “I made it clear that I couldn’t confirm it.”
“I want to play again and be competitive again. I hope they don’t go back to Roland Garros or Australia to win so people don’t get confused. . Everything is so far away at the point I’m in life. That’s not to say it’s impossible, because the sports landscape changes very quickly. But I am not fooled and I am aware of the difficulties I am facing,” he explained.
“One thing you can’t get over is age. And the other thing is that you can’t train 100% on a regular basis due to physical issues. When you combine those two things, you can’t get over some of your goals. seems very difficult or almost impossible to achieve. My hope is to play again and feel competitive again, so it doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm. I’m going to look at that and set some goals from there.” he added in an interview with Movistar Plus.
Regarding 2024, he said: “I said this would probably be my last year and I stand by that. However, I cannot confirm that 100%. I can’t answer this because I don’t understand it because I do it as a completely natural exercise. I’m looking at how my body is doing, so there’s a good chance this year will be my last, but I don’t know what it’s going to be like in three or four months. I’m always open to what happens in the future. ”
“I don’t know what I want to do in 2024 because I can’t clarify it due to my personality.In my case, the way I approach the year completely changes depending on whether I have a goal or not. “I can’t answer that question because I don’t know. I don’t even have to respond to it myself right now,” he said.
That’s why his calendar remains up in the air. You never know where it is. Does the scenario change depending on whether you think you have a real chance of winning Roland Garros during the clay season? Of course, it also changes how you build your calendar. ”
“If you think you have a chance to win, you have to choose which tournaments to play. If you feel like you can play, but you’re not in a position to win for various reasons and you don’t feel like you have any options, you might want to do a more sentimental farewell tour. “These are things I cannot answer,” he said.
Nadal has not thought about where he would like to play his final competitive match. “I don’t have any plans because I don’t know when I’ll be able to play or where I’ll be able to play. I think this will be my last year…what if I suddenly become perfect? I want to feel good and fully recovered and keep going. That’s what I think, so why do I have to say something I don’t understand now?”
“I’m cautious, so when I know the answer, I’ll tell you. I live each day with the option of giving myself the opportunity to make a decision. And right now I don’t want to think about anything else. I think about it every day. “Because you can’t do it. If you do the work, you’ll see what you can do with your size and mental state,” he said.
Praise Djokovic
Rafa also spoke about meeting the Serbs. Novak Djokovic He was the tennis player with the most Grand Slams in history and thought it would have been “even more disappointing” for him not to have achieved it.
“If you win 22 Grand Slams, you can live with frustration, but In that sense, I think Novak has a more intense way of life than I have experienced. It would have been even more frustrating for him not to have achieved that.And maybe that’s why he achieved itmaximized ambition . I’m ambitious, but I’ve always had a healthy level of ambition, which allows me to look at things objectively and not get frustrated or unnecessarily angry when things aren’t going well on the course. did. That’s how I live and feel. Also, they have different cultures and each player, each country, experiences things differently. That’s how I lived my life and I’m happy with it,” he said.
In that sense, he explained: “When I see him win a Grand Slam, I don’t feel anything. Whether I win or lose, my speech remains the same. I definitely wanted to be the tennis player with the most Grand Slams of all time. Sport is all about striving to be the best possible. But it’s not an obsession, and it’s not frustrating. ”
“People don’t always get irritated by something in life. They don’t get irritated even if the person living next door has a nicer car or a slightly nicer house than they do. That’s how life is and everyone does what they can. I’m frustrated because I believe I’ve done everything within my potential to make things go as well as possible. Is not.”
When asked if he had sent a message to Djokovic after the Balkan player won the last US Open, he replied: “I never sent a message to Djokovic out of pure confusion, because from experience I know that when you win something very important, it’s better to wait a little bit before sending a message. ” At first, it doesn’t seem worth it because you have 1,000 messages. “I’m planning on doing it, but I haven’t done it yet.”
“When Carlos Alcaraz won or was ready to win, I sent them to Carlos Alcaraz. And to the others…I came from another era, so I stayed on the circuit I don’t have that many friends. I’m from the older generation, so there are very few left. I talk to Federer from time to time. His children are not in my academy, they came to training one day, But I haven’t seen them,” he said.
Source: Biobiochile
