Rafael Nadal: 'I’m not in that mindset where I want to compete'

In this period of global emergency caused by Covid-19 there are really many tennis players who discuss issues related to their sport and other topics through the use of social networks. Former World number 1 Rafael Nadal intervened during a video chat organized by the Spanish federation and spoke about this problem: the Iberian tennis player appeared perplexed and quite unconvinced about a resumption of international tournaments in short or medium time.

Nadal stands alone in the Open Era as the player with the most clay court titles (59), and holds an all-time record of 12 French Opens, 11 Monte-Carlo Masters and 11 Barcelona titles. He also stands alone with the longest single surface win streak in matches (clay courts, 81) and in sets (clay courts, 50) in the history of the Open Era.

Due to these achievements, many have called Nadal "The King of Clay", and he is widely regarded as the greatest clay-court player in history. His evolution into an all-court champion has established him as one of the best players of all time.

The 33-year-old expressed his desire to be able to train and compete again. However, he cannot think of fulfilling his desires during these tough times. “Right now I want to go training, do I want to compete? Yes but to some degree, I’ve internalized the issue and since I don’t see a quick solution, I’m not in that mindset where I want to compete,” Nadal said in an interview to Marca.

“It’s different now and I personally think there’s a long way to go for me to compete again. But I trust that this will be fixed until then we must be responsible and cautious,” he added.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2y4U2sW