Rafael Nadal: 'If you really don't love the sport...'

Advertisemen

Born within a couple of weeks in the summer of 1981, Roger Federer and Serena Williams are among the oldest active players in professional tennis. Serena will retire at the next US Open, while Roger is yet to return from his third knee operation after last Wimbledon. Rafael Nadal spoke of two legends in his press conference prior to the US Open. The Spaniard called them legends and honored everything they have done for our sport. Serena has only played nine tournaments since the start of 2021, reaching the Australian Open semifinal last year and not repeating that result in subsequent events. The American suffered an injury at Wimbledon last year and stayed away from the courts for almost a year. Williams made a surprising comeback at Eastbourne, breaking into the doubles draw and shaping her game heading into Wimbledon. Serena suffered a tough 7-5 1-6 7-6 loss to Harmony Tan in the first round, blowing her chances and suffering an early loss. Williams came into Toronto and faced Nuria Parrizas Diaz in the first match. The American prevailed 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 57 minutes for her first win in 430 days. Williams faced Belinda Bencic in the second round and suffered a 6-2 6-4 loss. In her last meeting before the US Open, Williams suffered a tough 6-4 6-0 loss to Emma Raducanu in just over an hour in Cincinnati. Serena will make one last push at her beloved US Open, taking on Danka Kovinic in the first round at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night. Roger Federer has been dealing with a knee injury for over two and a half years, undergoing three surgeries and still struggling to get back into action.

Nadal is ready for the US Open

While speaking to Blair Henley, Rafael Nadal explained that professional sports could get very taxing, especially when one gets injured if one doesn't have enough love or passion for the sport. "I don't know (laughs), I mean just work very hard, work very hard every day since you are a kid," Rafael Nadal said. "And of course you need to have a lot of fun too because when you are or when you pretend to be a professional tennis player for sure you're going to be through some dark moments and if you really don't love the sport, the game a lot, (if) you are not passionate enough it is very difficult to keep going when you have injuries, when you have tough injuries - in terms of performance, in terms of confidence," he added.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/pFlmjNG

Advertisemen

 Tennis