Rafael Nadal’s 2018 was ridden by retirements, and eventually he was able to complete only 7 tournaments.
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Unfortunately, the King of Clay started the new season in the same way after he announced that he would not play his second match at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.
What happened?
Rafa lost to a good Kevin Anderson in the semifinal 4-6 6-3 6-4, and he was meant to play for the 3rd place against Karen Khachanov. Eventually, the world no.2 decided not to compete.
Why Nadal decided not to play again in Abu Dhabi
In the post-match interview, the Spanish Legend confirmed that he was satisfied with his tennis. The world no.2 showed off a new service motion and he also played very aggressively.
However, he preferred not to play back to back to put too much pressure on his body.
Rafa commented
“When you are out since long time ago, I had the surgery a little over a month ago; it’s normal that I have some pains. Being honest, I’m satisfied with the way I was playing tennis. I am more or less satisfied with how the body held.
Tough match, three-set match, I didn’t play sets before here. And at the same time, I have normal pains after a long time without playing, so probably tomorrow I will not play.
I will take a couple of days off. The season just started for me, it was a goal to be here, I tried hard to be here after surgery not too long ago, I was not sure if I will have the chance to start the season, and I did.
Last year I missed this event, last moment, I didn’t want to miss it again. But, at some point, I need to take a decision, and I spent more time on court than what I thought. It’s not the moment for me to make a step back, it’s the moment to make a step forward, the match of today is a step forward for me, that’s the main thing.
I suffered a lot in terms of injury. I don’t want to suffer more, I want to make the things the right way, step by step and that’s it. My goal is to try to be ready for the Australian Open, and I think I’m on the way to make that happen, but of course, I can’t take a lot of risks being the first match after a lot of months and especially after the surgery.”
Rafa will head to Brisbane where he will be the hot favorite for the title. Completing the tournament will be already an achievement.
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