Nadal Chooses Davis Cup Over ATP
Put yourself in Rafael Nadal’s shoes… You’ve had a career season having won the French Open, Wimbledon and Olympic Gold Medal while reaching the Number One ranking for the first time. You’re exhausted, your body hurts and you are supposed to play the ATP Masters Cup in Shanghai next week and then after losing in Shanghai fly directly from China to Argentina to play the Davis Cup Finals beginning a few days later. Clearly, if
Nadal had played in Shanghai he would have been very tired going into the Davis Cup Finals. The reality is that although any tennis pro would like to beat the “elite eight” who compete in the year-end ATP Masters Cup, it is simply another tournament to tennis pros, albeit a very lucrative one. On the other hand, by skipping the ATP Masters Cup, Nadal will have at least a week more to rest his body and prepare for the Davis Cup Finals where he will represent his country and lead his Spanish compatriots against an Argentinean team featuring David Nalbandian and Juan Martin Del Potro. Therefore, unless you are the ATP Tour, it’s not really so surprising that Nadal cited exhaustion from the tough, long season, in withdrawing from the ATP Masters Cup in Shanghai. Wouldn’t you have made the same choice?
|
