The Spaniard Rafa Nadal, who returns to compete in Cincinnati After the injury suffered at Wimbledon, he assured that he is clear that it is not possible to “return to a fantastic level from the beginning” and that things “will be complicated” in his first duels, although he faces the tournament with enthusiasm and the desire to Test.
“I am happy to be back in Cincinnati after a couple of years without being able to play here. I had a small tear in my abs and it’s dangerous. The abdominals are a dangerous part because in each serve you force a lot in that area,” Nadal said at a press conference organized in Cincinnati and collected by the ATP.
“I’m trying to do things right, trying to be a bit conservative. I hope I’m ready,” he added.
Nadal, who won four tournaments this year, including the Australian Open and Roland Garros, stressed the need for a Masters 1,000 tournament and the importance of approaching it with humility.
“When you come back after a little bit of time off you have to keep in mind that things will not be perfect. You can’t expect to come back to a fantastic level from the start. You have to have the humility to fight with the tools you have at the beginning to win the first game », he assured.
“Then when you win one or two games, things change and you start to feel competitive again,” he continued.
He also stressed that “the competition is different” with respect to the pace of training.
«If you play well, and I think I am playing more or less well, you have a good feeling on the court. But the competition is different and you have to accept that things will be complicated, and more so in a Masters 1,000 », he said.
“When you come back, even in a big one, if you are lucky with the drawing of the draw, even if you are not playing at a high level you have a chance to win a couple of games. But in a Masters 1,000 the rivals are very demanding from the beginning, so you have to play at a high level and that is what I am going to try to do », he concluded.
