Rafael Nadal set for emotional farewell at next month’s Davis Cup finals

The 22-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal, is currently competing in the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia. He will face long-time rival Novak Djokovic for the final time in the third-place match on Saturday. Nadal lost to fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals, while Djokovic fell to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner 6-2, 6-7 (0-7), 6-4. Alcaraz and Sinner will meet in the final.

Riyadh: Tennis maestro Rafael Nadal said he is “emotionally” ready to play next month’s Davis Cup Finals which will be his farewell tournament after announcing his retirement from tennis last week.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion is currently playing in the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Saudi Arabia and will take on long-time rival Novak Djokovic for the final time on Saturday.

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Nadal lost to compatriot Carlos Alcaraz 6-3 6-3 in the semifinal and will lock horns with Serbian in the third-place match. Djokovic lost to World No. 1 Janik Sinner 6-2 6-7 (0-7) 6-4 as the Italian will take on Alcaraz in the final.

“Emotionally, I’m sure I’ll be ready. Physically and in terms of tennis level, there remains a month left to prepare. I will try to be in good shape to help the team to win. If I don’t feel ready for the singles, I’ll be the first one to say,” BBC quoted Nadal as saying.

“Be 100% sure, I will not be on court if I don’t feel ready to win my match,” he added.

On facing Djokovic, who has won more Grand Slams than Nadal with 24, the Spaniard feels it will be a nostalgic moment.

“To have Novak in front (of me), it’s like a nostalgic thing,” said Nadal, who has won 29 of his 60 meetings with Djokovic.

“We’ve played each other a lot, so it’ll be fun to play each other again one more time in this match. Hopefully, we can create a good show and good level of entertainment,” he added.

Talking about Alcaraz’s prolific career at the young age of 21, Nadal said he will be ready to share his learning with him whenever needed.

“He’s going to do very well with what he’s got. He’s learning all the time. We can see he’s developing in every way. But of course I’ll be ready whenever he wants to call me,” Nadal on four majors winner.