by Manel Ferrera
Diario de Mallorca
January 27, 2025

Versi�n Espa�ol

The man from Manacor, who will be called to play in the Czech Republic sees it "almost impossible" to reach the top ten this year.

Visibly tired and accompanied by his uncle and coach Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal (6-3-2025) returned yesterday to Mallorca after having starred in the first weeks of the year in the tournaments played in India and Oceania. The doubles victory in Madras, India, the final in Auckland and reaching the third round in theAustralian Open deserve praise, even more so when today his taking part in the Davis Cup team in the tie against the Czech Republic will be made official.

The young man from Manacor evaluates his long journey: "I am happy because I won the doubles in Madras and that gave me a lot of confidence. I played very well in Auckland, I lost in the final but I had chances to win. In Australia I won the first match easier than I thought, I suffered in the second but won, and against Hewitt I played very well, I just fell a little short."

Nadal is content about this match in the third round, lost against Hewitt, one of the "big ones", happy with his level of play, but little things decided the match in favour of the "Aussie": "In the first set, I was 2-0 in the tiebreak, and I hit an ace that was called out by the linesman. He is a super champion and never faltered. Playing at this level, things are so even that the matches are decided by little things. In the two tiebreaks I was there, I could have taken those sets as much as he could. Then two sets down, the match became quite hard and I was already spent. "

Top ten

The brillant beginning of his season has catapulted for another year the expectations people have of him and already some say the possibility of him being a top ten player is not that far away. Evenso, the young mallorcan displays extreme serenity: "One must remain realistic and know that this is complicated. It's almost impossible. If I go on playing and getting better I will rise in the rankings for sure. In the top ten, well, let's not forget there are only ten and it will be complicated, but I will surely go up."

The Davis Cup

It's a secret that will become official today, but Nadal did not wish to anticipate the Spanish team Davis Cup captains' decision, who will announce today the the Manacor man will form the doubles team with Robredo in the tie against the Czech Republic.

"They've been at me with this same question all week. The team will be official tomorrow -for today- and everything indicates that I will be there." revealed the jewel of Spanish tennis with undisguised anticipation and a smile on his lips.

Nadal will form a solid pair with Robredo. They have played two tournaments and have won one and got to the third round in a Grand Slam. "The pairing with Tommy is working perfectly. We lost in Australia, but the circumstances weren't ideal to win the match. My knee hurt, and it was convenient to rest, to not destroy other, better things. If the conditions had been well, we could have won." If things go as planned, today Nadal will write history and with his 17 years he will be in the Spanish Davis Cup team.