Asked about what's next, Nadal remains cautious: "In sport, things change quickly".
Rafael Nadal's time in Madrid may be over, but the Spaniard is not yet done with tennis. After a rather febrile tournament in Barcelona, the Majorcan offered a much higher level of tennis this week. Still a long way from his best, the King of Ochre certainly reassured his fans. Although a final title at Roland Garros seems almost impossible, seeing him play one last time in Paris is not out of the question.
Asked about the next stage of his season, the Majorcan began by reiterating that seeing him play in Spain again before his retirement was not completely out of the question: "I don't know if it's the last time I'll play in Spain, I don't know if there could be another option, it's something I haven't thought about, even though it's likely. There's a Davis Cup coming up, which may be excluded in a very high percentage of my calendar, but not 100%, you never know what may happen in the future. If it was the last time I played in my country, it was a great memory."
As far as the next major dates are concerned, the man with 22 Grand Slam titles, although reassured by his string of successful matches, left room for doubt: "I don't know what can happen, but I now have four matches behind me in Madrid. That's the reality. I was more tired today, yes, but it's not serious. I withstood several hours of competition at the highest possible level, and that's the most important thing. Tennis-wise, I'm also happier than when I arrived, although if I don't have the confidence that my body can withstand tennis, there's no way it can. And even if it's difficult to imagine great things today, I stand by what I said the other day: in sport, things change quickly and I'm doing things as carefully as possible, I don't know how to do better. [...] About Paris... after Rome, I'll say. I understand your urgency and I'd also like to have a clear vision of what's going to happen, but as I don't have it today, I can't tell you any more. I hope to be able to play in Rome, if there are no setbacks, and I'm going there with the hope of continuing to develop."
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