Rafael Nadal has lost consecutive matches for the second time this season, but Wednesday night’s three-set loss to Tommy Paul (3-6, 7-6(4), 6-1) has not dampened his enthusiasm for competing at this year’s Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
“Just give myself a chance to enjoy another World Tour Finals, no?” Nadal said. “You never know when it’s gonna be the last, especially at my age. So I am gonna give my best to enjoy this one, and then next years of course I gonna fight to be back there.”
Nadal, who played his first singles match since September 5th on Wednesday (a loss to Frances Tiafoe in New York), says he is eager to get back on the horse in Turin. He would like to spend more time on the tour so that he can be in proper shape to keep competing for the biggest titles of the sport.
“If nothing happens, I hope to be there,” Nadal said of the ATP Finals, which begin on November 13 in Italy. “I'm excited about playing, even if it hasn't been the perfect couple of months for me, of course.”
Nadal, making his 11th appearance at the ATP Finals, owns a 20-16 lifetime record at the tour’s prestigious season-ending championships. He will enter with lower expectations, feeling no pressure.
Most important? Pick up some matches and get back into the rhythm of the tour before the season ends.
“Nothing to lose. After a good year, going there, just trying my best,” he said. “At the end I need days on the tour, you know. It's true that for the last five months I didn't spend enough days on the tour.
“I don't even say competing on a tennis court. I say on the tour. Practicing with the guys. That's what I need. I'm gonna try. [If] Nothing happens, if I feeling okay, to be there a little bit earlier than usual and have some practices.”