The Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal, who this week will play the 1,000 Masters in Toronto (Canada) as seed number 2, has declared that he continues to manage his foot injury and that he is going “day by day”. That is why he assumes his future on the slopes with his feet on the ground and conceives a retirement before what has been marked by one of his great rivals, a Roger Federer who keeps his racket active in his 40s.
“I go day by day,” Nadal said in his pre-tournament press conference. “The main thing is to try to feel that I am improving and feel that I am playing better and better, which is the goal in this tournament,” added the Balearic, who has won this tournament five times, including two in a row in 2018 and 2019.
“I need to have a couple of weeks with less pain to regain confidence with my movements. I come here to try to win, but also to continue being positive with my foot,” he commented, as reproduced on the ATP website. “I’m not at my best yet, but I’ve been practicing better than I played in Washington, so I’m happy to play here. I hope I can compete well,” he confessed.
Post-Games comeback
Nadal reappeared in Washington at the beginning of August after a break to recover physically and that led him to be absent from the Tokyo Olympics. He defeated Jack Sock in the second round, but then fell to Lloyd Harris, who in Toronto could be his first rival if he wins in the first round against an opponent to be defined who comes from the previous phase. The Spaniard left for Toronto with less discomfort than when he arrived in Washington.
“I couldn’t practice for a couple of weeks (after Roland Garros),” Nadal said. “It was about 20 days without a racket trying to recover. Also, (it was difficult) mentally as well. I did not play well enough (at Roland Garros),” he explained.
The example of Roger Federer
“In the first game in Washington my foot hurt, but in the second I felt a little better. Even if I lost, it’s a good thing for me. It’s about finding the routine on the court again. Trying to be competitive again. I need to have the feeling of playing several days in a row without problems, “he insisted, in addition to looking to the future when questioned about Roger Federer’s competitiveness at 40:” I don’t think it will last until 40 years like Federer, but he time will decide if I continue to be physically healthy and motivated. “
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