‘Tired’ Rafael Nadal Commits to Play Laver Cup 2019 with Roger Federer

Published 09/16/2019, 12:19 PM EDT

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Rafael Nadal is all set to play alongside Roger Federer for Team Europe at the Laver Cup 2019 in Geneva, which begins on September 20. The Spaniard reveals that he is still recovering from winning the US Open but the 2019 Laver Cup still remains in his schedule.

The 19-time Grand Slam champion conquered the 19th Grand Slam title of his career after defeating Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling five-setter in the US Open 2019 finals last week. The Mallorcan then returned to his home in Mallorca to celebrate with his friends and family and also to recover from the tiring US Open final.

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In an interview with ATP, Rafael Nadal talked about his plans for the year and admitted that while he needs some rest, playing at the Laver Cup is something he has earmarked. He said, “I’m tired. The truth is that I have not yet fully recovered. I returned home and have already done a little recovery work. I’m regaining my strength little by little. On a mental level, I just need to rest.”

The world No.2 further continued, “When you finish a game like that you have to recover by taking all the steps necessary to make sure you get better at it. It’s too early to work out the plan because after the final I didn’t have the chance to discuss the various issues with my team. I’ll have to see how my body will respond, but surely the Laver Cup is circled in red on my calendar.”

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Rafael Nadal is just 640 points behind the world No.1 Novak Djokovic. However, the 33-year-old explained being the world No.1 is not his main goal, though he’d like to be on the top spot.

In his injury-prone career, Rafael Nadal has struggled a lot due to his physical issues. However, the Spaniard has done well with his scheduling in the 2019 season as he has tried to play lesser tournaments in order to prevent injuries and keep his body fresh for the bigger events.

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“My goal is to be competitive for as long as possible in a big tournament and to be so I have to force myself to play less. It is true that being the number 1 end of the season is not my main goal, although of course, I’d like to,” Nadal added.

The Mallorcan concluded, “I can’t waste energy to become one, I have to concentrate on training and when I’ll have to play. If then the number 1 will be a consequence of that, so be it, but even if I did not finish from number 1 it would still be a great year for me.”

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Written by:

Varun Khanna

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Starting off as a tennis author in 2018, Varun Khanna has gone on to contribute to EssentiallySports in various capacities. After setting up interviews with the likes of Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Alizé Cornet, and Noah Rubin, Varun is now part of all major ATP and WTA press conferences and has gone on to pen more than 1300 articles for EssentiallySports. He now heads the tennis and NBA division of the organization.
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