Tennis News: Rafael Nadal reveals goals for next season
Rafael Nadal said he plans to make the Swiss Indoors Basel the start of his preparations for next season, and the launching board for returning to top form next year.
The Spaniard, who is making his fourth appearance at the ATP World Tour 500 indoor hard court tournament, revealed his goals for next season, which includes competing in all of the tournaments he is scheduled to play. The 29-year-old said he has “no time” to rest this year as he begins preparations for the 2016 season.
“I have the motivation to keep going and what motivates me is to find a way to play at the highest level possible and to put myself in a position to fight for the things I want to fight for,” Nadal said, as quoted by the ATP World Tour’s official website. “I’m working hard to be better tomorrow than today.”
Nadal believes he is heading in the right direction to regain his best form and added that he has the motivation to keep himself going despite the recent setbacks in his tennis career. The “King of Clay” said that his main goal is to end the year in a “better level” than what he had shown in the first half of the season.
Nadal, the third seed in the tournament, will start his Basel campaign against Lukas Rosol. Nadal will join the likes of Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer, with the latter looking to secure a seventh title in the Swiss indoor tournament. Federer, who is coming off a shocking loss last week at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, opens his Swiss indoors campaign against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.
"Ten years ago I would have only hoped to be still able to play at 34, yet here I am,” Federer told Yahoo Sports. “I'm going through a really exciting phase of my career, of my life.”
Meanwhile, Kei Nishikori of Japan and Canada’s Milos Raonic have pulled out from the tournament due to injuries.
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