The applause from the public at the Caja Mágica headquarters moved to the conference room, where those present received the star of the night warmly. Rafael Nadal was grateful for the gesture, but at the same time he noted that the contained expression he was wearing at one-thirty in the morning – after losing against the Czech Jiri Lehecka in the round of 16, 7-5 and 6-4 (in 2 hours) 02m)—was due to the fact that the work is unfinished. That is to say, the Mallorcan, who will turn 38 on June 3, does not want to mention the word for now. withdrawal because, he says, the moment one pronounces it, it is already gone: “And I still have a way to go.”
Nadal explained that what he experienced this Tuesday not long ago was unimaginable, given that a month before he did not even know if he would be able to “play an official match.” Therefore, he was grateful for fortune. “I was able to say goodbye on the track and at a decent level. It means a lot to me to have played here. For me, this city, Spain, has always meant support and energy that has helped me decisively in my career, and today I take with me a very beautiful energy, an indelible memory. I will never have the opportunity to thank you enough. I don’t know if it will be the last time I play in Spain, I don’t know if there may be another option or not, it’s something I haven’t considered; but it is very likely that it is so. And, if so, it is a great memory and a great night,” he introduced.
Although the calendar still reserves the possibility of a last dance in the Spanish dream, in the Davis Cup Finals to be held in November in Malaga, the tennis player had the feeling of having paraded for the last time at home. And even though he defines himself as a “very sensitive” man, he held back the tears that some of his relatives, such as his sister Maribel, could not contain. “I got very emotional inside, what happened is that I held it together,” he added. “I didn’t want to cry because I haven’t finished my journey with the racket in my hand. I have finished here, in Madrid, but perhaps it is not the time to let go of everything I have inside at the level of emotions or sensations. I still have a way to go and I don’t want to let go of that adrenaline yet,” he added.
At the same time, Nadal pointed out that these days in Madrid have allowed him to take several “steps forward” and fuel his confidence. “I arrived with doubts in every sense, and I leave with fewer doubts,” he explained, emphasizing in parallel the “very high” level of Lehecka and the fact that he also had his opportunities. He also remembered the 2005 experience at the Casa de Campo Rockódromo —“it was the beginning of the many problems I have had, because I broke my scaphoid and the next day I couldn’t walk, but it is one of the things I love most.” I have him”—and considers that his circle with the Spanish capital “is closed” because he could not imagine having been able to play a game at his age.
Regarding the emotionality of the evening, with the Madrid fan surrendering at his feet and lamenting this last time on the Manolo Santana sand, the 22-time major champion expressed: “It’s normal for the people around you to be emotional, but if People not so close do it, for me it is a very great personal satisfaction. I guess I have done things well, not just with the racket in my hand. We all make mistakes, but, really, I have tried to be respectful and kind. I hope, at least, I have not been a bad example for the new generations or for the children who have seen me on TV.”
Nadal says he feels full. That he is at peace with himself and that if he is extending his professional career as much as possible — he officially started in the elite in 2001, 23 seasons ago now — it is “for many reasons.” Among others, “out of a sense of duty” and because he still “likes and gets excited about” playing tennis. In that sense, he notes on the immediate horizon the desire to compete in the Foro Italico in Rome, a tournament that will take place immediately after the end of the Madrid one. “I’m going to explore what can happen there, I want to play,” he stressed; “I have won it 10 times and I have experienced many emotions as well. I really enjoy it there, so I want to be competitive and I will work hard to see what can happen. “Today is a hard day, but my career continues and I have my goals.”
One of them, probably the main one, is Roland Garros, starting on May 26. “I have nothing insured. What I do have behind me is that I have played four games in Madrid. Although I ended up a little more tired muscularly, it is nothing serious, so my body has endured several hours at a good level,” he specified, placing the closing of the Roman tournament as the limit to make a decision. “My tennis is better than when I arrived, and this is a wheel: if I don’t have the confidence that I can endure (the physique), tennis is not going to work. If my body holds out, I don’t know what can happen. Sport changes things quickly, and I am acting prudently, doing what I can to continue giving myself options in these upcoming tournaments. I will say about Paris after Rome, I would like to be sure,” Nadal concluded, congratulating his departure.
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