Nadal secured his place in the third round at Wimbledon on Thursday evening with a victory over Ricardas Berankis.
The Spaniard entered the league after not playing a single league game since winning the French Open earlier this month, with a foot injury that disrupted his preparation plans after battling through the pain barrier at Roland Garros.
At 36, Nadal is fully aware that he is nearing the end of his career, but he continues to look for a notable Grand Slam for the calendar year after also winning the Australian Open in January.
Although he was ready to leave the sport until recently, the 22-time Grand Slam winner insists he will have no fear when that day comes.
‘My philosophy is a few weeks ago I was close to it’ [retirement]Nadal told a news conference. “Now I don’t feel that way (smiling). That’s my philosophy.
“It’s something I’m not… I never feared that day. I think I’m glad I’ve had a very happy life outside of tennis, even though tennis has been a very important part of my life for the past 30 years.
“I’ve been happy outside of tennis without a doubt. I have a lot of things that I like to do outside of tennis, so I don’t worry about that. But when that day comes, of course, a change will come. All changes in this life take time. You have to adapt to the changes.
“But it’s normal for people to talk about retirement of the great athletes because somehow the athletes who have been at the top of the game for so long, even more in more popular sports, are becoming part of life.” of so many. people. The same thing happens to some football players, to golfers.
“I mean, for example, a person I like who plays Tiger Woods. Now I don’t see Tiger Woods playing that often. Somehow that is also a change in my life.
‘Probably people will think the same as me, as a fan, when Roger [Federer] does not play, when Novak [Djokovic] don’t play, when I don’t play, or when football or basketball or any sport isn’t played, because they become part of people’s daily lives because they are a source of inspiration.’
MORE: ‘It’s extremely difficult’ – Andy Murray hopes to return to Wimbledon next year, but admits injuries will have the last word
MORE : Emotional Katie Boulter fights back tears as British star beats Karolina Pliskova for biggest-ever career win
For more stories like this, check out our sports page†
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news about
facebook, Twitter and Instagram†
