Roberto Bautista Agut admits being ‘surprised’ by Rafael Nadal’s decision to retire due to ‘this’ reason
Roberto Bautista Agut revealed he expected Rafael Nadal to play another year before the tennis legend announced his retirement.
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Roberto Bautista Agut and Rafael Nadal (NBC Sports/BBC)
Rafael Nadal shocked the tennis world after recently announcing his retirement from professional tennis. The 38-year-old will play his final career match at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. His Spanish teammate at the event, Roberto Bautista Agut, has admitted that he thought Nadal will play for at least another year.
Nadal remains one of the greatest players that ever graced the tennis court, having won 22 Grand Slams in his illustrious career. The Spaniard is arguably the greatest clay-court player in history. He won an impossible 14 Roland Garros, 12 Barcelona Open, 10 Italian Open, 11 Monte Carlo Masters titles.
However, Nadal’s career was also plagued by injuries and health issues. He has not played up to ten tournaments for the past two years due to a hip injury he sustained at the 2023 Australian Open. He also has Mueller-Weiss syndrome in his foot, a condition that saw him use injections at the 2022 French Open.
In a recent interview, Bautista Agut was asked if he knew Nadal was going to announce his retirement from tennis. The 36-year-old revealed that he had no idea about Nadal’s retirement and was expecting him to play another year on the Tour.
No, no, I had no idea. I even thought he would give it another chance next year on the gravel tour. I thought Nadal was going to give himself another chance next year on the clay court tour.
Roberto Bautista Agut said via Marca
Agut is currently in Malaga ahead of the Davis Cup Finals. The Spaniard ended the 2024 ATP season on the bright side after winning the Antwerp Open. He will be looking forward to winning the Cup with his teammates.
Roberto Bautista Agut believes Rafael Nadal will himself decide on playing in Malaga
Rafael Nadal’s fitness for the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga has been a worry for several pundits and fans. The Spaniard has yet to play a tour-level match since the Nordea Open in July. The last time he was on the court was at the Six Kings Slam exhibition event, where he failed to win a single match.
Nadal is set to call time on his career at the Davis Cup Finals. However, in the aforementioned interview, Roberto Bautista Agut mentioned that he believes that Nadal himself will decide if he is ready to play in Malaga or not.
More than between me and Rafa, Rafa will decide if he is ready to play or not. Let’s hope he is fine and we will see who plays. I am ready and I will try to prepare myself as I always do for the Davis Cup. I am ready to play. Then there are many factors. Let’s hope that Charlie (Alcaraz) plays very well in the Masters, the tournament is very close to the Davis Cup.
Roberto Bautista Agut said
Nadal is part of the Spanish Team chosen by captain David Ferrer. He will compete alongside Bautista Agut, Carlos Alcaraz, Pedro Martinez, and Marcel Granollers. Spain is scheduled to face the Netherlands on November 19.
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Victor Okechukwu
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