DPA/Manacor, Spain
Former world number one Rafael Nadal had a bad year as far as injuries are concerned, and as he gets ready to start pre-season training next week he wants to keep expectations in check.
“I approach 2015 as always, with the greatest wish that things will go well. The most important thing is to be healthy, that comes first and foremost,” Nadal told dpa in an interview.
He already had a major comeback in 2013, when he returned from a long lay-off to win 10 tournaments, but he is not looking back now.
“No, 2013 was magical and cannot be repeated. 2013 will not be coming back. I face 2015 simply as a beautiful year. I am two years older. I have to try once again to compete all I can to be at my best,” he said.
Nadal had back problems in January, took a three-month break for wrist trouble, and eventually underwent surgery to remove his appendix, which meant he had to skip the World Tour Finals in London.
“Lots of things happened that did not let me have the rhythm I need to be competitive every month of the year. The goal next year is for that not to happen again,” Nadal stressed.
He is undergoing stem cell therapy for a back injury, but will not try anything that puts his personal wellbeing at risk.
“I would never do anything that is an attack on my future health in order to extend my career in sport. Personal life and happiness go far beyond my tennis career,” he said. “Taking that as a starting point, I do only what doctors advise me to do. And I have a team of extremely professional doctors who try to help me keep my body as healthy as possible, even if incidents then happen as they have this year.”
At 28, however, Nadal is already thinking beyond professional tennis, and he launched Tuesday in his hometown, Manacor, on the Spanish island of Majorca, an academy that he hopes will be his “legacy”.
The Spaniard, who has won 14 Grand Slam tournaments, wants to pass on some of what he has learned.
“I always say that my future, my present and my past are all linked to the world of sport. Tennis has given me a lot. And this is my way to give back in some way everything it has given me,” he said.
The Rafa Nadal Sports Centre is set to hold a boarding school along with training facilities.
“Our goal is to bring up as many professional sports people as possible, but we know those will not be a majority, so we need to prepare those who do not make it so they may have a future built on the right values,” Nadal said.
In 2015, he thinks other players will challenge him, long-time arch-rival Roger Federer and world number one Novak Djokovic for major tennis titles.
“This year, Grand Slam tournaments have been won by four different players: Djokovic, (Stanislas) Wawrinka, (Marin) Cilic and myself. I don’t have the impression that it is just us three,” Nadal said.
For the Spaniard, Andy Murray, Grigor Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic are also forces to be reckoned with, along with younger up-and-coming players.
“This will be an interesting, fascinating year, I think,” he said.
Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal speaks during a press conference held after laying the first stone of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, Spain, on
