Nadal isolate to avoid infection of Covid-19
"The Covid-19 infection did happen at Wimbledon," Nadal said in an interview on July 1. "I can't do much sideline work at this time, just stay at home and don't go out."
According to the Spanish tennis player, Covid-19 infections are part of the challenges the world has faced over the past three years, although the current pandemic is not as dangerous as it was before. "We must learn to adapt to the new situation," Nadal stressed.
Nadal rented a house at Wimbledon, just minutes from the pitch. He and his personal physician, Ruiz Cotoro, both wore face masks as they signed autographs for fans on their way home after the second round.
Roberto Bautista Agut became the third male player to leave Wimbledon on June 30 after testing positive for COVID-19. Nadal's compatriot gave up tickets for the third round to Daniel Garland, who was in fine form during this year's grass season and scored in the Mallorca Open final.
Before Bautista Agut, two highly rated players on the court, Marin Cilic and Matteo Berrettini, also had to withdraw from Wimbledon because of COVID-19 infection. Berettini practiced with Nadal 90 minutes before the opening of the game. Wimbledon does not need to test players, but under UK government regulations, infected people must be quarantined.
Nadal takes on Lorenzo Sonego in the third round at Wimbledon 2/7 today. The 36-year-old tennis player is believed to be the second-best title candidate after Novak Djokovic. Nadal won the Wimbledon title twice, but last reached the final in 2011. He lost the semifinals in his last two fights in 2018 and 2019.
Nadal added: "I'm happy with what happened at Wimbledon because I was thinking about retiring a few weeks ago." "I am not afraid of the day when I retire, because this is the rule. I love life outside tennis and there are many things I like to do."
Nadal believes that fans will also get used to the fact that he, Federer or Djokovic no longer appear frequently, similar to Tiger Woods playing golf less often than before.
