By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday November 18, 2024
Rafael Nadal says his top priority is to help Spain triumph at Davis Cup. The emotions that come with ending his professional career can wait.
Photo Source: AP
The end is nigh for Rafael Nadal's playing days, but even in these very last moments of the King of Clay’s legendary career, the 22-time time Grand Slam champion is focused on the competition, and the opportunity at hand.
Talking to reporters ahead of Spain’s quarterfinal with the Netherlands, Nadal says the time for emotions will not come until after the last ball is struck this week at the Davis Cup finals. For now, all Nadal wants to do is help lead six-time Davis Cup champion Spain to one last triumph.
This week in Malaga, it is truly all for one and one for all for Team Spain.
“Everybody knows how much I love my country in general,” Nadal told Davis Cup.com. “I haven’t been able to move from the country ever, so I enjoy living here. And playing my last event in Spain, it’s something that I am very happy with.
“Thanks to the work that the team made in Valencia to qualify for the finals, I have the chance to enjoy this last moment of my tennis career. Being with them, being with the team, and playing in Spain is something very special, because I will never have the chance to thank everybody here in Spain enough, the support that I receive and the love that I always felt.”
Nadal says the people of spain, in all aspects, have always made him feel special, and he wants to return the favor by pouring everything he has left into his final professional appearance.
“The media, the crowd, the kids, I always had a great connection with them. So I have been very fortunate to enjoy all that I enjoyed – It is a very special thing that I felt very well loved.”
Though it isn’t clear what role Nadal will play on David Ferrer’s team, which also features Carlos Alcaraz, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pedro Martinez and Marcel Granollers, it will be wise do consider that Nadal has always raised his level when playing Davis Cup for Spain.
Nadal has not lost in singles since losing his debut match in 2004. He is on a 29 match winning streak in Davis Cup that stretches back 20 years, and his 37-5 overall Davis Cup record ranks fourth on Spain’s all-time list.
No matter how it goes down, whether he plays a pivotal role or not, Nadal is sure of one thing: emotions can wait.
“I cannot predict what’s going on,” he said. “If I am on court, hopefully [I will] not [be] emotional, because at the end, I am not here for retiring. I’m here to try to help the team. It’s of course, going to be my last week on the professional tour, but at the end, we are here at a team competition.
“The most important thing here is try to help the team and stay all focused on what we have to do, that is play tennis and do it very well. Because the rival is going to be difficult, and the conditions are difficult, too. The emotions are going to be for the end. Before and during, it’s to be focused on what we need to do.”