After spending two weeks in quarantine Rafael Nadal is hoping his tennis will be able to put a smile on the faces of those currently struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The world No.2 heads to Melbourne where he will be leading Spain in the ATP Cup which will get underway on Tuesday. The tournament will be Nadal’s first taste of competitive action on the Tour since his semi-final loss at the ATP Finals in November. Although it has been a far from the usual preparation for Nadal and his peers heading into the new season after having to spend 14-days in a ‘bio-secure bubble’ where his movement and training time were both limited.
“For me personally, preparation has been positive. I have been able to practice around two hours per day in Adelaide,” Nadal told reporters on Sunday.
“I did, I think, the things that I had to do to be ready. Now is the moment to start playing and practicing with other colleagues and let’s see what’s going on.”
Due to the low number of COVID-19 cases in Australia, tournaments in Melbourne Park will be open to the public but with a reduced crowd size. Although the number of fans expected to visit will significantly be higher than previous tournaments in recent months. Best illustrated by the Day at the Drive exhibition which took place in front of a full crowd in Adelaide last Sunday.
Nadal is hoping that his sport will provide a boost for those around the world who have been impacted by the pandemic in some way. Unlike Australia, many countries are currently in a strict lockdown with attending sporting events banned.
“It is the moment to start talking about tennis. That’s why we (the players) came here: to play tennis, to try to give to the fans around the world and to the fans here in Australia a good show,” he said.
“For some of the people who are suffering a lot at home, we try to provide good entertainment for them. The only way to make that happen is to go on court, try our best.”
As the top player in his team, Nadal is hoping to lead Spain to the ATP Cup title after finishing runners-up 12 months ago. His fellow teammates include Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta and Marcel Granollers. On the opening day of the tournament Nadal faces a potentially tricky encounter against home favourite Alex de Minaur who started his season by winning the Antalya Open in Turkey. The two also clashed in the ATP Cup last year which Nadal won in three sets.
“He’s young, he’s improving every year. He has a lot of amazing things. I think it’s going to be a tough battle for all of us playing against a great team like Australia,” Nadal previewed.
The fact tournaments such as the ATP Cup is taking part in front of fans have been hailed as a triumph in itself by many, including local government officials. Although some members of the Australian public are still cautious amid fears of a possible outbreak of the virus in their community. A risk Nadal feels is minimal due to the procedures that have been implemented.
“We did tests for 14 days in a row and then players who came on a plane where somebody was contaminated, they have been 15 days in hard quarantine, just in a hotel room.” Nadal points out.
“From my humble personal opinion I think today we (the players) are not a risk for the population. We appreciate so much the effort the country has done, and all Tennis Australia has done to allow us to be here and play our sport.”
Nadal will be using the coming week to tune-up his game for the Australian Open where he will be bidding to win the title for only the second time in his career. Should he do so, he would overtake Roger Federer to become the most decorated male Grand Slam singles champion of all time with 21 titles.
