Retiring great Rafael Nadal reiterates that he is not in Málaga to take it easy ahead of Spain's crucial Davis Cup quarter-final tie.
The Spaniards are set to face the Netherlands tomorrow morning at 3am AEDT live on Bein Sports, where the winner will face either Germany or Canada.
Based on current form, world No.3 Carlos Alcaraz and veteran Roberto Bautista Agut are expected to play in the singles, but Nadal's intense training session with Australia's Alex de Minaur yesterday will offer optimistic hope.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion announced his retirement from the sport last month in an emotional video, having suffered countless injury setbacks.
However, Nadal is entering the final tournament of his decorated career with the mindset of winning silverware for his nation.
"I am not here to retire. I’m here to try to help the team," confirmed Nadal. "Then it’s of course going to be my last week on the professional tour, but at the end, we are here in a team competition. The most important thing is to try to help the team and to stay all focused on what we have to do, that is play tennis and do it very well."
When asked if he would change anything if he had the opportunity, the former world No.1 ensured he is "in peace" after leaving everything out on the court.
"I achieved the most important thing for me, because this day arrived and I am in peace that I gave all that I had," said Nadal. "I played and practised since I was seven. I started at three but at that age, I started to work more and more with passion, with love and with the determination to be as good as possible.
"I am not the kind of guy that will say: ‘No, I would not change things,’ because for me it looks arrogant. Of course I would change things, but one thing has been so important for me [is that] I’m going to leave this professional tour with the calm and personal satisfaction that I give my best in almost every single moment."
Nadal's Davis Cup record is nothing short of phenomenal, winning 29 of his 30 singles matches to help Spain win four titles.
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