Rafael Nadal is nearing the date of his retirement from tennis, but his expectations aren't high, quite the opposite.
The 38-year-old Spaniard enjoyed over two decades on the ATP Tour. In his early years, he was one of the most successful teenagers ever, and he built on that career to become one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Nadal will retire with 22 Grand Slam titles to his name and many great achievements that he can certainly be proud of. However, in the past two years, he hasn't enjoyed much success as he struggled to stay healthy.
That eliminated him from the vast majority of the Grand Slam tournaments. Despite being far from his best at the moment, Nadal will still have a chance to retire victoriously.
He will retire at the 2024 Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga, Spain, and the team nature of the competition significantly increases his chances of having a victorious ending to his tennis career.
Nadal will join forces with one of the two best players in the world right now, Carlos Alcaraz, who will be motivated to help his idol retire with one last win.
At the end of the day, to do that, Spain will need to win 'only' three ties, with the first one in the quarter-finals of the 2024 Davis Cup Final 8 draw being against the Netherlands.
Still, Nadal doesn't have any expectations when it comes to his retirement, as he told Spanish publication AS. The 38-year-old is aware that retiring so late into his tennis career, it's difficult to have what he called a 'movie ending.'
"I haven't expected much from the end of my career for a long time, because one realises how difficult everything is and I don't believe in movie endings."
"Almost nobody has movie endings, because it's very difficult in sport to have them, unless it's someone who really gets to the point where they're healthy and can win, but they don't really enjoy what they do anymore. Then, yes, you can retire winning."
Nadal knows that there is a possibility of having a movie ending, but only for players who end their careers sooner. Not because of their bodies limiting them but because they lose their passion for the sport.
Most recently, Ashleigh Barty would be a great example of that, as she won the 2022 Australian Open before retiring from the sport.
For Nadal, however, the situation is much different. He's 38 years old and for the past few years, his body didn't allow him to show all of his incredible potential.
Therefore, he doesn't have any goals for his retirement in Malaga. His only goal is to be healthy and be able to stand on the court, but as he noted, that's not a guarantee.
"When you're passionate about what you do, it's very difficult to retire at 100% and winning. I simply hope to be healthy enough and prepared to enjoy the moment and try to help the team."
"In 2004, in the Davis Cup, I had my first great joy as a professional tennis player. And finishing in the final phase of the Cup again, for me, is a good way. And I hope that it can end positively, regardless of whether I play or not."
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