Novak Djokovic was sliding a couple of days ago that he, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, the holy trinity of the racket in modern times, share a WhatsApp group. However, Manacor, always punctilious when expressing himself and pending every nuance, corrected him in the prelude to his long start in Acapulco, tournament in which he enjoys and much.
MORE INFORMATION
Federer, operated, falls from Roland Garros
Carlos Alcaraz, the next jewel
“It's not just about us three, but more people. It is for professional issues. We and the rest of the members of the Players Council are here to be well informed of what is happening. We do not have frequent communication between the three of us, although if there is any kind of concern or we want to congratulate ourselves, we have no problem in doing so through a private message, ”said the Balearic, who next morning (not before 3.30, Movistar + Sports) will start at the Mexican event in front of his friend Pablo Andújar, whom he has known since childhood.
Three weeks after the first critical point of a momentous season was settled in Melbourne, the circuit again refers to the two-way great pulse, since Roger Federer, injured, will disappear from the map until June. Djokovic and Nadal, then, will compete for the next few days even if they are not going to cross, with more than 14,000 kilometers through. From the desert to the Caribbean, from Dubai to Acapulco. And the accounts are very simple: to recover the throne that gave in Australia, the Mallorcan must be photographed on Saturday with the Mariachi hat and that the Balkan, champion of the first major , skate before the semifinals.
“I have the illusion of doing well. I came with a week of margin and I have been taking steps forward in each training, ”Nadal updates, only 325 Nole points in the list (9,720-9,395). “I come here because I love this tournament [an ATP 500 on cement, like Dubai] and its organization. Here the public makes me feel at home and the love is exceptional. It is a good test to see how I am, and I hope to be prepared to play at the level I need, ”prolongs the number two, which gave the baton in the Antipodes to fall in the rooms against Dominic Thiem.
No revenge mood
"If you ask me if I want Djokovic to have more Grand Slams than me, I answer no," Nadal said when asked who he was going to do in the Australian final. “I don't hide in saying this because I am sure that if you ask Novak if he prefers me to win Roland Garros or Thiem, he will tell you that he prefers Dominic. This does not mean that you go against anyone, but that it is the pure competition, ”he added, thinking about the task at hand, that of getting in tune this week in order to get the best of the next two calendar appointments , the 1000 Masters of Indian Wells and Miami.
The Spaniard was asked if he was still stinging last year's farewell in Mexico, when Nick Kyrgios took him out of his boxes with his repertoire of stride and bravado in the second round. “I've never had feelings of revenge, because I don't think that helps you win games, but quite the opposite; the revenges all they do is not let you think clearly or serenity, and when competing the important thing is to have a cool head to analyze well what I should do, ”says Nadal, who in recent times has only played a bolus with Federer in Johannesburg ( Match for Africa ) and would not cross with Canberra's until a hypothetical final.
"The only bad memory I have here is that of 2018, because I had to retire just the day before the tournament started," he recalls. "Last year I lost a tight match that I had to win, yes, but it is part of our sport," he continues, recalling at the same time that he won the title of 2005 and 2013 - then it was still played on clay - and that in Acapulco Find it at home. Meanwhile, Djokovic continues to hunt: he adds 14 victories in this first quarter (six in the ATP Cup, seven in Melbourne and this Monday in Dubai, 6-1 and 6-2 Malek Jaziri) and takes care with zeal of the throne recovered.
“ME TO A WAR? I WOULD HIDE EVERY DAY ... ”
During his appearance before Mexican journalists, Nadal was reminded that John McEnroe, number one, said in an interview granted to EL PAÍS that the American would choose him rather than Federer or Djokovic in the case of having to go to a battle. Conversely, the Balearic has no doubts: “I would not like to go to any war, because I do not like to fight. One thing is to fight on the track and outside I really like doing it. I understand that John said it with good words, but I think that if I had to do it he should choose another one because I would be hiding all day ... ”.
Also, he was asked to do an exercise in imagination to know what he would recommend to Nadal from the beginning. “I am not sure what I would say… Everyone must live their own experiences. I have lived them with intensity, trying to do things well and making mistakes, because in this life we are all wrong. I am not much to say. What makes you evolve as a person are the examples you have next to you, the people you have next to you, and the experiences you live. I try to copy the things of the people I like and set aside those that I don't like. I try to be surrounded by people who give me positive things, ”he closed.
You can follow EL PAÍS Sports on Facebook, Twitter or subscribe here to the Newsletter.
