Published15. April 2024, 6:20 p.m.
Tennis: Rafael Nadal: “I act like it’s my last year”
Injured for a long time, the athlete will be well at the Barcelona tournament. On Tuesday, he will face the Italian Flavio Cobolli, “enjoying every moment”.
Rafael Nadal says he is ready to return to competition after more than three months of absence.
AFP
Tennis star Rafael Nadal assured Monday that he intended to “enjoy every moment” during what could be the last year of his career, on the eve of his return to the courts in Barcelona.
The 37-year-old Spaniard, hampered by repeated injuries, will face the Italian Flavio Cobolli on Tuesday for his first match in more than three months, in a tournament that he has won twelve times on the road to Roland-Garros.
The winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, who missed almost the entire 2023 season, assured that he considers it “a gift” to be back in Barcelona, where the center court already bears his name.
“Today I feel well enough to be on court tomorrow. Its very important. It means a lot to me to be able to play again in Barcelona, a place where I have had incredible success and where I have unforgettable memories,” he said at a press conference.
Not “able to think about the semi-finals”
“I act as if it was my last year and I want to enjoy every moment,” assured Nadal, who had to withdraw from several major tournaments, including Monte Carlo last week, after a hip injury in Brisbane in January.
“Not being able to participate in Monte-Carlo hurt me, but fortunately things have improved,” said the Mallorcan, who nevertheless said he was “completely realistic” about his current level of play. .
Asked about the withdrawal of his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, whom he could have faced in the semi-final, “Rafa” simply replied that he was “not able to think about the semi-finals”.
Highly anticipated for his return to Catalan clay, Rafael Nadal could fall on a big piece in the second round in the event of victory against Cobolli, with the 11th in the world Alex De Minaur, to gauge his real state before a probable final Roland-Garros at the end of May.
(AFP)