Nadal: “I am not here for retiring, I’m here to try to help the team”

Emotions are likely to be running high in Malaga this week as Rafael Nadal makes his final appearance (or appearances) as a professional, at the Davis Cup Finals.

But while all eyes will be on the 38-year-old, he is intent only on seeing how far he can help Spain in their quest to win the Davis Cup title once again. Controlling the emotions will be an ongoing issue but one he will put aside if he has a racquet in his hands.

“If I am on court, hopefully not, no, because at the end I am not here for retiring,” Nadal said, asked how he thinks he will handle the occasion emotionally. “I’m here to try to help the team. Then it’s of course going to be my last week on the professional tour, but at the end, we are here in a teams competition.

“The most important thing here is try to help the team and to stay all focused on what we have to do, that is play tennis and do it very well, no? Because the rival is going to be difficult, and the conditions are difficult, too. So then the emotions going to be for the end, and before and during, it’s to be focused on what we need to do.”

Ferrer says he has not named team yet

Spain captain David Ferrer said he has yet to decide who will play on Tuesday when Spain take on the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, but Nadal said he will be ready if picked.

“I just tried to work as hard as possible the last month and a half, then here, just trying to do my best every single day,” he said. “Of course when you are not competing very often, it’s a little bit more, you know, difficult to hold the level in a constant basis, but have good moments, more difficult moments. I think the improvement is there every day, but, I mean, we have a great team on Spain.

“So the thing is all these players on the tour are playing very well, having great seasons. Then it’s the work of the captain to decide what he feels it’s better for the team.”

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