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- Nadal: ‘I Need Battles Like This’ | ATP Tour
“I have two weeks before the Australian Open starts,” he continued. “I can’t say that the situation is ideal, but at the same time, I can’t say that it’s very negative, because for moments I was playing good. I think that two matches is going to help me. I need to win couple of matches. But the level was not that bad, putting in perspective that I arrived needing a little bit more time.
“I’m going to try hard these two weeks to be physically better,” he later added. “In terms of tennis, probably playing sets and practising for the next two weeks with good guys, I think that can help me to be more consistent. That’s what I’m going to look for. It’s just the beginning, and honestly, I am not too alarmed, too negative about what happened. I think there was a real chance to lose these kind of matches… I had my chance against two great players, not able to convert it. That says that I have an important room to improve, and I really believe that I can do it. I was very close to win against two great players.”
“Putting things in perspective (for) this competition, I find a negative point,” the world No.2 said. “Competition is great. Idea is great. It’s not great that today we are playing for nothing. It’s the first year of this competition, so that’s the kind of thing that we need to fix, to improve, and to make it more interesting for everyone.”
Nadal said for a start, the loser of the first tie should play the team that hasn’t had a match so there is more on the line. Spain could not progress in the competition after finding themselves down 3-1 to Great Britain, meaning the last mixed doubles and then five matches against Australia were largely meaningless.
Nadal subsequently skipped the mixed doubles against Great Britain but said he would have played if it meant getting a point that could have helped the cause if the Australia tie was a live one.
He may be busy accumulating what is currently the most number of singles grand slams (22) by a male tennis player in history, but that hasn’t stopped Rafa taking time to chat to some Eurovision hopefuls.
In 2018 he met Spain’s Eurovision contestants that year, Alfred and Amaia, who would perform ‘Tu canción’. At their meeting Rafa mentioned he was a huge fan of Spain’s Eurovision national selection Operación Triunfo and asked how the duo’s preparations for the Contest were going. Unfortunately Rafa’s winning ways did not rub off on Alfred and Amaia and they finished in 22nd in the 2018 Eurovision Grand Final.
VIDEO: Rafa and Paula Badosa participate in a game of Partnership at the United Cup 2023
Social media related to Rafa:
Rafa is sounding very positive about his tennis game and prospects for AO 23 and that is very uplifting as it means he will play confidently and compete at the very top level . I hope he wins the slam and silences his opponents and detractors who say he should retire .
Go well in everything you do, Rafa toward the sixteenth of Jan.
I like your positive & balanced attitude.
Way to go….
Good luck Rafa for the aus open 23 n maybe slam #23
❤️