Ferrer: "It was Nadal who wanted to be in the finals from the first moment"

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Despite the surprising news of Rafa Nadal being selected for the final phase of the 2024 Davis Cup, many were caught off guard. The Spanish player had already expressed his interest in participating in the tournament to the captain months ago. David Ferrer had kept this ace up his sleeve and did not hesitate to officially announce the bombshell, stating that Nadal will be contending for the title in November, starting with a quarter-final match against the Netherlands.

Initial discussions about Rafa's interest declaration took place before Spain knew if they would make it to the final phase. Nadal already told David that he would like to be with the team in case they qualified for Malaga: "I spoke with Rafa before we started competing in Valencia and before we qualified. He mentioned the idea and his desire to be there if we had the chance to qualify. The day after or two days after achieving the pass, we talked, and his intention was to be prepared and excited to be in Malaga. It was very easy, and it was he who initiated it and wanted to be in the finals from the very beginning," confesses Ferrer, as reported by Málaga Hoy.

Could this be Rafa Nadal's retirement?

"It's a very personal matter; everyone retires as they wish. I can't say what the perfect retirement would be. It's very difficult to manage that. But as long as Rafa is happy, it's good enough for me," confesses the captain, who is not willing to confirm anything that Rafa has not publicly announced. Perhaps not even Nadal himself has the answer but feels capable of being with the team and doesn't want to miss the event he couldn't attend last season.

Will there be doubles with Nadal-Alcaraz?

"I don't know. There are two months left, and everyone on the list has to compete. I couldn't say at this moment. The good thing is that there are many possibilities to pair up in doubles depending on physical exhaustion, how the tie progresses... We have a very strong team to achieve important things, but in this format, the competition evens out a lot. They have a very good doubles team. You might have two good singles players, but if you lose one, things get much more complicated. Furthermore, it's a very tough tournament, with the top eight players in the world."

One of the main questions to the Spanish team's captain concerns the schedules of the two players. On one hand, Rafa, along with Carlos, would take part in the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition tournament at the end of October in Saudi Arabia: "It's an important exhibition, and he will play with top tennis players. If Nadal wants to be in Malaga, I know he will be in top shape. He's very honest about that," says David, as reported by Marca. On the other hand, Carlos would arrive on the Costa del Sol just a few days after competing in the ATP Finals, which doesn't worry David too much: "It's always like this; the schedule is always very tight, but I want to be optimistic and think that Carlos, who is obviously essential for the team, will be in top condition. If he wins the ATP Finals, I will be happy for him and his team."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Ferrer: "Fue Nadal quien quiso desde el primer momento estar en las finales"