Nadal not scared of retirement, planning for after career
SYDNEY : Rafael Nadal admits he is planning for retirement — but says the golf course and fishing can wait as he plots possibly his last serious tilt at Australian Open glory.
Nadal rarely utters the Rword but, in a candid and colourful interview, the 17time grand slam champion has confessed to accepting the end is inevitable after almost 20 years of battering his body into submission.
‘‘Life has great things, not only tennis, so it is something that doesn’t scare me, to think about that day and that day is realistic,’’ the
Spanish superstar said before the start of the
Open on Monday.
‘‘The day that I feel that I don’t have chances to compete for the things that make me happy will probably be the day to do another thing.
‘‘I am here to try and play a very good tournament in Melbourne and I believe if I have this good week of practice and I am able to have a good start in the tournament, why not? I am playing well [enough to win].’’
Turning 33 in June, and after being dogged by knee, back, wrist and abdominal injuries, not to mention ankle surgery in November, Nadal knows he is in the tail end of his illustrious career and ‘‘of course’’ is thinking about life after tennis.
‘‘I prepare my future, of course. I have my tennis academy, a foundation. I have different things around the world that I have to take care [of] in the future and of course I will not be the guy who finished a tennis career and am going to stay at home fishing and playing golf