World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who is currently struggling with a knee injury has claimed that he doesn’t have a dream to be fulfilled as he has already achieved more than he ever thought in his career.
Nadal, the reigning French and the US Open champion is a doubtful starter for the Australian Open after pulling out at the last minute from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship last week and the Brisbane International on Monday. However, the Spaniard has confirmed his participation in the exhibition event, Tie Break Tens which will take place in Melbourne on January 10.
Speaking to Spanish newspaper AS, Nadal said: “Well, I don’t really have any dreams but everything that has happened in my career has been more than I ever hoped for or imagined. My motivation is the same as it has always been, to keep feeling that I’m competitive every year and to keep enjoying tennis. I am lucky enough to be doing something that makes me happy. If one day I lose that feeling when I’m pushing myself to achieve something in my sport, that will be the moment to start thinking about doing something else. My goal is to keep playing at a level that gives me a chance to compete for the things that really motivate me for as long as possible.”
The 31-year-old Majorcan added: “At this stage of my career it’s great that the opportunity to be world number one again presented itself. I took advantage of the chance and I’m happy to have done it, because it was results that took me there. But I never chased that objective and I never will. My challenge is to remain healthy and fight to be competitive because if I can do that then I’ll have the chance to achieve the things that I want to. If that isn’t the case, that’s when things start to get complicated. My calendar and my objectives are focused on staying fit and happy because at the end of the day obviously being number one is a source of happiness and it’s another achievement in my career. But these things are temporary and the important thing, particularly at my age, is being able to train and feeling ready to compete.”
