Nadal abdicates and designates his heirs: “The future belongs to Sinner and Alcaraz”. Meanwhile he faces them…

For Rafa Nadal the Six Kings Slam will be the opportunity to return to the courts a few days after the announcement of his retirement and a month before the start of the Davis Cup Finalsan event indicated by the Majorcan himself as the curtain-raiser of his career. Peers and new recruits, predictions and expectations: Nadal spoke about it on the eve of the tournament. The first words were dedicated to Novak Djokovic, last faced at the Paris Games and who shares the last draw of his career with the Spaniard. «We have played many times and they have always been great challenges – declared the Majorcan – he is a great rival. He pushed me to the highest levels, to the limit, and I think it’s a mutual feeling: we really pushed ourselves to a very high level. With such a strong opponent we both had to improve to continue competing at the level required to be successful.” The focus then shifts to the new generation of champions, starting with the world n.1, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz, current n.2 in the ranking. «They are strong, young and are playing very well – underlines Nadal -. They are winning Slams and Masters. Carlos and Jannik, especially the two of them, are building incredible numbers, I wish them the best to continue moving forward, they will be the stars of the future if they manage to stay intact and have an extraordinary career.” And with what expectations is Nadal living these eve hours? «I will do my best but the challenge is great because there will be great players and the matches will be truly competitive – he concludes -. I don’t have very high expectations but I will be happy to be on the pitch and challenge these players once again. It will be a great show because when players like this come together the public will certainly have something to enjoy.”