ARTICLES:
- Nadal hoping for first ATP Finals title after great year that could have been even better | tennismajors.com
The week before the US Open, having given himself every chance to be ready to win a third slam of the year – and 23rd overall – he tore the muscle again.
“I had to go back to make a serve that was not mine and in the end there are too many things to compete with guarantees,” he said. “It is what it is and you have to live with what you have. It’s important for me to play tournaments in a row like the one I had until Indian Wells. Hopefully next year I can start with a little bit of continuity and that’s why I’ve signed up to play the first week of the year to spend more days on the circuit competing and training”.
“In Paris I hadn’t raced for a long time and I had a little stomach problem. I was vomiting, at the end of the third set I felt sick to my stomach. I didn’t say anything at the time because it didn’t make sense. I was sick for a day and then I was able to train normally”.
“I try my best in every single event. That’s true. Doesn’t matter if I won it [in the past] or not,” he explained. “When I enter a tennis tournament, I want to win and I’m going to try my best to achieve that goal. Here I was not able to make it, I was not good enough to make it in the past. So I just accept that and I’m happy to give myself another chance at the age of 36 — something, for me, that was difficult to imagine years ago.”
- “‘Doubt’ is one of Rafael Nadal’s favorite words, but he always overcomes his doubts” – Steve Flink on Spaniards’ chances in ATP Finals | sportskeeda.com
“So it’s going to be hard for Rafa because he has always been the least comfortable indoors. He could well prove me wrong. He’s is one of these guys who, no matter how many negative comments he makes, ‘doubt’ is one of his favorite words, he overcomes his doubts. I still think we’ll see him go in with the usual fighting spirit. So he’ll still be hard to beat but I don’t like the conditions. It tends to be fast in Turin,” he added.
“Jim Courier made an interesting point that the good news for Rafa is that there seems to be no evidence of the foot problem. The foot seems okay. It didn’t seem to be a problem at Wimbledon, the US Open, or again here. So at least that seems under control. I don’t know about the abdominal. I still don’t think he’s serving like the real Rafa. I didn’t see it against Tommy Paul. I don’t see the comfortable extension that he once had. So I’m a bit concerned about that,” Flink said.
VIDEO:
I think we are really happy to see Rafa in the lineup. I would really be concerned if he was in Mallorca, changing his diapers but we see he is out there practicing and he looks great. He is a routine kind of a guy and and I think he has a good shot in that group of his.
Vicky Duval
Social media related to Rafa:
I KNEW he was ill in Paris! I even commented here about him looking sick to his stomach. He looks fit as a fiddle and ready to go now in Turin! I so want him to win if for no other reason than getting to see him on court is TENNIS HEAVEN for me! Vamos, Rafa!
Just finish the season by not injuring yourself even more. 🙂
Vamos Rafa❤️