Rafael Nadal will be grateful for every day he gets on the court, considering his persistent injury over the last few years.
Rafael Nadal will be grateful for every day he gets on the court, considering his persistent injury over the last few years.
Nadal missed the second end of the 2018 season which also saw him surrender his World No. 1 rank.
The Spaniard now is looking forward to bouncing back at the Australian Open, where he has cruised into the fourth round with a comfortable straight-set win over local boy Alex De Minaur.
However, Nadal is unsure when his body will start causing him issues in the future.
“Probably ten years that situation would not be a drama but today, for me, after what I went through all my career, I had a lot of stops for injuries. I have been in that situation a couple of times.
Even though it was to the ideal thing because I wanted to play in Brisbane I was so sad I had to pull out from there. I had more or less a good offseason which gave me confidence," Nadal said.
"But even if I have to deal with this up and down with the body that I am having, I am just excited any time I have to be healthy and play again. I am trying to enjoy every moment on court," the World No. 2 added.
After his third round win at the Melbourne Park on Friday, Nadal was asked by John McEnroe on the court if he would like to thank his fitness coach Rafael Maymo for helping in back to full health.
“No, I am getting injured all the time,” Nadal joked as he left the entire crowd break into laughter including his trainer.
However, Nadal quickly got serious and mentioned that he cannot than Maymo enough for whatever he has done for him since 2006.
“He has been almost my shadow since 2006 so I can’t thank him enough for all the things," Nadal said.
"And all my team. If it was not for them, after all the things that have happened in my career, I cannot be sure I would be here. I want to say thank you too all of them and all the fans around the world," the Spaniard added.
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 "Rafael Nadal")
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