BARCELONA-. Rafael Nadal is “ready enough” to play on Tuesday, which is expected to be the last time he plays the Barcelona Open.
Nadal confirmed on Monday that he will play his first clay tournament of the year.
“It was a positive week of training. Tomorrow I will be on the court,” warned Nadal, who will face the Italian Flavio Cabolli in his first duel. “I have the feeling that it will be my last date here and I want to enjoy it. It’s a gift”.
Nadal, who has won Barcelona 12 times, underwent hip surgery last summer and has played only three competitive matches this year, all in Brisbane before skipping the Australian Open.
“I’m ready enough to play,” Nadal added. “It is what it is. It is part of the life of an athlete. Everything has a beginning and an end”.
The Spaniard acknowledged that this is a unique situation after “two very difficult years” with injuries and that he believes he can still “be competitive.”
The 37-year-old tennis player withdrew from the Monte Carlo Masters last week, before the start of the tournament due to a persistent injury, saying that “his body simply won’t allow it.”
At the beginning of March, the champion of 22 Grand Slam tournaments played an exhibition match against his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas, but days later he withdrew from Indian Wells.
Nadal has won the French Open, which begins on May 25, 14 times.
Alcaraz will not play in Barcelona due to an injury. Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Jannik Sinner in the Monte Carlo final, will compete in this tournament.
Source: AP
