By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, February 26, 2018

Rafael Nadal declared a simple mission statement ahead of his Acapulco return: I come to play.

The top-seeded Spaniard meets good buddy and fellow lefty Feliciano Lopez in his Abierto Mexicano Telcel opener.

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It will be Nadal's first match since he hobbled off the court retiring with an upper right leg injury in the fifth set of his Australian Open quarterfinal match with Marin Cilic.

Nadal said he's eager to return and has been practicing extensively.

"I do not think or feel like a favorite to win the tournament, I do not have that inner pressure," Nadal said. "I come to play. I have trained three hours daily. I’ll try my best. Sometimes things go right or wrong and one must go prepared to accept both things, but at this point there is no pressure, but the personal demand to do things well."


Photo credit: Guillermo Sanchez

Should the seeds hold true to form, Nadal would face Sam Querrey in a quarterfinal rematch of the 2017 Acapulco final. Last March,Querrey cranked 19 aces stunning Nadal, 6-3, 7-6 (3), in the final becoming the first American in the 24-year history of the Abierto Mexicano to claim the title. 

A two-time Acapulco champion, Nadal is bidding for his first hard-court title since he crushed Nick Kyrgios in the Beijing final to back up his US Open title triumph.

“In general I have good memories (of Acapulco)," Nadal said. "The 2013 had a special value more than any other because they were many months without being able to compete, so I arrived with many physical problems, but winning that tournament was a starting point is in my heart and was very important in my career in general."

Since his painful Melbourne departure, Nadal has seen rival Roger Federer successfully defend his Melbourne title then win Rotterdam surpassing Nadal to regain the world No. 1 ranking.

“Neither he nor I fight for the number one, I never think if now he is number one," Nadal said of Federer. "We have found ourselves once again because the results have been very good, but the important thing is to play and be at the (top) level.”


Photo credit: Guillermo Sanchez

The 16-time Grand Slam champion called on tour officials to consider the long-term health of players after his Australian Open exit.

"Is not the right moment to say for me," Nadal said. "Somebody who is running the tour should think little bit about what's going on. Too many people getting injured. I don't know if they have to think a little bit about the health of the players. Not for now that we are playing, but there is life after tennis.

"I don't know if we keep playing in this very, very hard surfaces what's going to happen in the future with our lives."

An MRI showed the 31-year-old Spaniard suffered no structural damage to his leg. Nadal said he's eager to put himself to the test of tournament play.

"We try to overcome adversity, if the body responds I am happy that at 31 years of age it is good and competitive enough,” Nadal said.