Rafael Nadal has arrived in Australia to participate in the United Cup, the new competition that unites the ATP and WTA circuits that will officially open the 2023 tennis season. The Spanish champion has every desire and ambition to repeat the incredible start he He demonstrated in 2022, in which he also managed to win the Australian Open for the second time in his career.
This time, the Iberian will play a few matches in his country’s jersey to prepare for the prestigious event in Melbourne. The world number 2 appeared at a press conference on the eve of the start of the season and declared: “The start of the season is always exciting.
For everyone it is new, with doubts about how things will go. Although I don’t know how many seasons I’ve been on the pitch, the beginnings are always different. I have the maximum motivation to start well. That is why trust is always important.
The last few months have not been easy for me. The important thing now is to recover the positive sensations on the pitch to be competitive. I am ready to achieve it”, declared the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles. He praised Nick Kyrgios, who, due to his withdrawal, will not play the United Cup: “I know he doesn’t like playing Roland Garros too much, it’s the only tournament he doesn’t seem to want to be in.
He reached the final at Wimbledon, he was close to New York… I think he has a good chance of winning any tournament he plays. He has all the talent, all the weapons to beat any player. He can certainly do it,” he added to the media.
Rafa was unsure of the future
In the same presser, Rafael Nadal mentioned that he was unsure whether his latest visit Down Under would be his last. “As a professional you never know. I mean, hopefully not. I mean, when you are at the age of 36, you never know when going to be the last one.
It’s obvious, but don’t like to talk about that because I am not in that mood now. Just focus on try to play at the highest level possible and give myself the possibility to keep being competitive, to fight for anything,” he stated.
“That’s my goal now. Not thinking about it being my last time here. If that’s the last time, let’s try to enjoy it as much as possible. Let’s try to create something special, no? But, no, I am happy doing what I am doing. I’m looking forward to keep doing this,” the Spaniard added.
