Rafael Nadal has admitted he could be forced to pull out of the singles matches at the Davis Cup Finals, where the Spanish superstar will end his great career. The Matador will end his professional tennis career in Malaga next week, where he hopes to triumph for a fifth time with the title of the team tournament.
Nadal has not played since the Paris Olympics in July, where he lost to eventual winner Novak Djokovic in the second round. The former No. 1 is ranked 155th in the world. "Above all, I have to see how I feel during training and, if I feel that I have no chance of winning the singles, I will be the first to refuse to participate. If I do not feel ready, I will first go to talk to the captain of team David Ferrer. I have already warned him not to make decisions based on this being my last week as a professional tennis player", Rafa said in comments to the Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET).
Spain open their Davis Cup campaign against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the competition on Tuesday. Wimbledon and Roland Garros champion Carlos Alcaraz is certain for the singles matches, while Pedro Martinez and Roberto Bautista Agut are options if Nadal is not ready for the singles matches. Matador can turn his attention to doubles, where he can play in tandem with Alcaraz. The two played together at the Paris Games, where they reached the quarter-finals.
Nadal is a 22-time Grand Slam champion. In total, he won 92 titles, 36 of which from the Masters 1000 circuit. The 38-year-old Spaniard is the 2008 Olympic singles champion and the 2016 Olympic doubles champion. | BGNES
