Rafael Nadal – “The Season is Not Only On Grass”

The third seed at Wimbledon Championships 2019, Rafael Nadal has been handed over a tough draw this year. He will possibly meet Nick Kyrgios in the second round followed by the Canadian Denis Shapovalov or Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third and then meeting Marin Cilic in the round of 16.

The Spaniard, Rafael Nadal is unhappy with the seedings at Wimbledon this year, he is ranked number two in the world and before landing on the courts of SW19, Rafa claimed a Masters and Grand Slam title on clay. At the pre-Wimbledon press conference, the two-time grass court major champion expressed his resentment towards his seeding. 

“I respect all the situations,” said Rafael Nadal. “The stuff is about ATP. We give two thousand points to this event. We let them do whatever they want. That’s something that I don’t understand because I can’t create an impact, not by myself.”

Rafael Nadal acknowledged that his purpose to come here is to play tennis and he was considerate about the consequence of the seedings which would affect the rankings of his fellow colleagues Alexander Zverev or Dominic Thiem.

All players are training all part of the year and grass is not the only surface they focus upon and this policy of determining the seeds is unfair since the grass courts performance is taken into account while the seeds are determined and the players land up with biased draws at Wimbledon. 

“Of course, it can create an impact in the rankings at the end of the year,” said Rafa. “For example for Sascha (Zverev), for Dominic. It is not only about grass. The season is not only on grass. All the players work so hard to be where they are, then arrive here, they see a possibility to be in a tougher draw because of that,” Rafael Nadal continued.

Nevertheless, Rafael Nadal respects the traditions of the prestigious tournament and accepts the situations which bounce upon him.

“I respect the Wimbledon rules. Another thing is if I believe that is fair or not, that’s another story. I really personally believe is not. I really respect the tournament so much. I respect the history of this event. I really understand that they see the sport from another perspective. They want to do it by their own rules.’’ Rafael Nadal added.