“For me, it’s a gift to be in Barcelona, and I want to try to enjoy every moment,” the tennis player assured during the press conference held this Monday.
The twelve-time champion of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell-71st Trofeo Conde de Godó, Rafael Nadal, has confirmed in a press conference held this Monday that he will compete in the tournament.
“I am happy to be here, for me it is a gift to be in Barcelona. I am treating it as my last year and I want to try to enjoy every moment,” he said, according to Cope.
The Balearic native, who has been preparing for his return to the courts at the RCT Barcelona since last Wednesday, will face Italian Flavio Colbolli in his debut.
In the second round, he would face a challenging match against the fourth seed and quarter-finalist of the last Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo, Australian Alex de Miñaur.
Nadal, who has not played an official match for three and a half months since he lost in the third round in Brisbane to British Jordan Thompson, noted that Barcelona will be ‘only’ his second tournament of the year.
The abdominal discomfort that prevented him from executing his serve normally seems to have subsided, and at 37 years old, he considers it ‘a gift’ to ‘compete’ again in one of his favorite tournaments.
“Not being in Monte Carlo hurt me, but fortunately, things have improved this week and I feel comfortable enough to play tomorrow,” explained Nadal, who insisted that he has ‘the feeling’ that this will be his last appearance at the Godó.
In any case, the thirteen-time Roland Garros winner said he plans to ‘give it his all’ this Tuesday, as his goal is to ‘enjoy and be competitive’ on the clay of the Catalan capital until the last day.
The withdrawal due to injury of his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz leaves the tournament without the champion of its last two editions and thwarts a potential semifinal with Nadal, but the Mallorcan downplayed this fact.
“I feel bad for him because he cannot play an important tournament that he has won twice, and I wish him a quick and good recovery. But I am not in a position to think about semifinals,” he concluded.
