MADRID, 11 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal acknowledged mixed feelings after his defeat in the second round in the Rome tournament, the fifth Masters 1000 of the season, where he did not have the level he expected in a tough 6-1, 6-3 against the Polish Hubert Hurkacz , with which he confessed his doubts about whether or not he will be at Roland Garros.
“You have to accept it. It was a hard day for me in every way, because I felt more prepared than I showed,” acknowledged the ten-time champion of Rome at a press conference, after saying goodbye to the Italian capital in his second match. .
“That gives me a bad feeling, because feeling better I can’t show it on the court,” he added, upset when he had just played four matches at the Mutua Madrid Open. The man from Manacor arrived in Rome with the intention of taking a step forward in his game, with a view to Roland Garros, an important place in his career.
The king of the land, who is confirming his goodbye for each tournament that passes in 2024 that points to the end of his career, confessed several weeks ago that he would not go to Paris if he does not feel like he has the option to compete and go far. “There are two paths,” he began.
“Probably one would be to say: okay, I’m not prepared, I’m not playing well enough. Then it’s time to make the decision not to play Roland Garros. Another is to accept how I am today and work in the right way to try to get there in a good way.” differently in two weeks,” he added.
Despite the unexpected step back from the 14-time Roland Garros champion, the Spaniard confessed that his decision is closer to going to Paris. “The decision, as you can imagine, is not clear in my head today. But if I have to say what my feelings are and if my head is closer to one path or another, I am going to say that I will be at Roland Garros and I will give it my all. “, he claimed.
“Physically I have some problems, but they are probably not enough to say that I will not play one of the most important tournaments of my career,” he added.
Nadal was fired by thousands of people at the Foro Italico, another emotional moment, like the one a few days ago at the Caja Mágica in Madrid. “I have said it throughout my career, that I will never be able to thank enough all the love and support I have received around the world. Here in Rome, obviously, it is one of the most important tournaments of my career, one of those events that I will always carry it in my heart for many reasons,” he said.
“Here I have played some of the most important games, beautiful, emotional games. In many moments of my career, I was able to recover from difficult moments in Rome, especially in the last eight years, when I arrived here with some doubts and started to play well” , term.
