In his first tournament since winning his 13th Roland Garros title, Rafael Nadal is ready to pursue a record-tying 36th ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Paris Masters.
The Spaniard has never won the title at Paris-Bercy, but he has made at least the quarter-finals in all seven of his appearances. Nadal won’t be thinking about falling short in the past. The top seed will be fully focussed on trying to capture his third trophy of the season.
“That's part of the game. In some places you have more success and others a little bit less,” Nadal said. “It’s true that of course at the end of the year in the past I arrived sometimes very tired physically and sometimes mentally, too. And at the same time on indoor courts I need to be fresh, I need to be in full condition. It’s probably the surface that I need to be playing better to try to have success.”
Nadal owns a 70.1 winning percentage indoors, including a Masters 1000 title at 2005 Madrid. The World No. 2 will begin his tournament against countryman Feliciano Lopez or Serbian Filip Krajinovic.
“I’m going to keep trying my best as I did all my tennis career and I hope to give myself chances,” Nadal said.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is only Nadal’s third tournament since February. The legendary lefty reached the quarter-finals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires at Roland Garros.
“I like to play tennis, so I like to play a little bit more than two tournaments every six or seven months,” Nadal said, cracking a laugh. “It was not the ideal situation. Of course normally I like to play a little bit more before important tournaments… It's because I like to play tennis, I like competition and that's what I do.”
Nadal has already guaranteed his spot at the Nitto ATP Finals in London. He has qualified for the season finale in a record 16 consecutive seasons.
“It’s part of the history of our game. It’s an important event and is a party of the best players of the season,” Nadal said. “London has been a big success, I think. We enjoyed a lot playing in The O2. It has been a great atmosphere, great crowd. And moving to Turin, I'm sure that will be another success because the Italian fans are at heart enthusiastic.”
For now, Nadal isn’t thinking ahead or worrying about his previous results at Paris-Bercy. He is focussed on trying to capture his first Rolex Paris Masters title.
“When I go to a tournament, I just focus on trying to play my best tennis,” Nadal said. “It's true that we are in different circumstances than previous years… But I am here to play my best.”
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/3jLotWH
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