MADRID, May 4:
Winning a gold medal for your country at the Olympic Games is the greatest achievement in tennis, world number two Rafa Nadal said today, while also leaving the door open to a possible return to Spain’s Davis Cup team in September.
After his triumph in Beijing four years ago, Nadal will be chasing a second Olympic singles gold in London, when the event in July and August will be staged on the grass courts of Wimbledon’s All England Club.
In an interview with Reuters, the 25-year-old said that for him personally the Olympics ranked above the four grand slams in prestige.
‘The Olympic Games is very special for many reasons and in my opinion the biggest one because you are representing your country,’ Nadal said as he prepares for the Madrid Masters event starting next week.
‘You have the feeling that you are with all the Spanish sportsmen representing our country,’ added the Mallorcan, who beat Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez to win the gold in 2008.
Nadal’s pride in representing the Iberian nation was evident as he helped them to a fifth Davis Cup triumph in last year’s final against Argentina but he said afterwards he would not play in the competition in 2012 due to the congested calendar.
However, he is now not ruling out returning to the team for September’s World Group semi-final at home to United States, when the holders will continue their bid for a fourth title in five years.
‘There remain a lot of months, a lot of important events, so I cannot think about it when I am here in Madrid preparing for an important tournament like this one,’ Nadal said.
‘So let’s see how the season goes and I will wait until that date(before deciding).’ (Agencies)
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