After winning his 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, the Spanish Rafael Nadal (5/ATP) reappeared in the Mexican Tennis Open without putting on the favorite tag and that’s it resigned to not being number 1 in the world again.
“I think that that time passed for me, unfortunately, somehow my physical problems deprived me of being able to finish a few more years in my career as number one”, Nadal said Tuesday at a press conference after beating American Denis Kudla in the first round of the Mexican Open.
Nadal, 35 years old, was number 1 in the world for the first time on August 18, 2008 and by last time on January 20, 2020.
Although he remains in the top ten of world tennis, the constant injuries changed his outlook.
“For some time I felt that I was ready to be number one, but the physical did not allow me… today my goals are othersI am not going to pursue that goal in any case, I think it would be a mistake to pursue it, ”said Nadal.
The Spaniard stressed that “I haven’t played much for years” and that it has to be selective in the tournaments that make up its activity calendar, which it is impossible to reduce even more.
“They keep asking me ‘Are you going to reduce the calendar more?’ and I say ‘if I reduce it more I stop being a tennis player’, that is the reality because I’ve been playing very little for years and in the end what we do is play tennis and, if possible, then we try to play where we feel like itwhere we like it and even more so at this point in my career and this (the Mexican Open in Acapulco) is one of the places where it has historically had good feelings”.
does not feel favorite
Although players like the German Alexander Zverev (3/ATP) have pointed to Rafa Nadal as the favorite to win the title in this edition of the Mexican Open, the Spaniard has removed the label.
“I never considered myself or thought so much, I always tried to make my way respecting each rival as much as possible and without going too far. In the end today I played against Kudla and my goal was this match, tomorrow (Wednesday) it will be (Stefan) Koslov (in the second round) and my goal will be that, and from there, well, build things day by day”, he pointed out. Nadal.
The Fierce knows that for the Mexican fans it is the sentimental favorite because is on the way to being crowned at the Mexican Open for the fourth time with what would match the top winners of the tournament in history: the Austrian Thomas Muster and the Spanish David Ferrer.
Despite knowing himself to be the main player to watch in Acapulco, Nadal no longer feels pressured. “At this point, not anymore. I am almost 36 years old and I have been competing for many years and I assure you that There is nothing external that generates more pressure on me than my self-demand; The only thing that gives me the rest is satisfaction, happiness, and feeling the affection of the people is the only thing that helps me to play better and to be better”. (D)
Source: Eluniverso
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