INTERVIEW: "Anyone can win" Davis Cup final, Nadal says

By Sebastian Fest Nov 29, 2011, 19:28 GMT

London/Seville - Despite his successes in the Davis Cup, Spaniard Rafael Nadal is prepared for any outcome in the weekend final against Argentina.

'Anyone can win,' Nadal told the German Press Agency dpa at the recent ATP World Tour Finals in London.

'Argentina has a good enough team to defeat Spain,' he added.

However, Argentina 'is one of the countries to which I would least mind losing, because I regard those we are facing as friends,' he said in another interview with dpa in Seville where the December 2-4 tie is played.

'It will be a very nice finals match, not only because we are playing against an important country like Argentina, but also against friends,' the six-times Roland Garros champion said.

While Spain is going for a fifth victory in the prestigious team event, Argentina is hoping for its first after losing in the finals of 1981, 2006 and 2008.

'Of course they can win,' Nadal says. 'We need to prepare thoroughly, I think we are all mentally prepared,' he stressed.

'To play in the Davis Cup against a great team like Argentina creates motivation and a lot of excitement. Argentina is a country with a lot of tradition in tennis, which is one of the most important sports in the country,' the Spaniard says.

'And in Spain in recent years, (tennis) has also become important,' a situation which will create an impressive tie.

Knee problems denied Nadal playing in the 2008 final when Spain beat hosting Argentina in Mar del Plata, but he knows all the details about the opportunity that Argentina lost then.

'They have been trying to win for years. They have lost some finals,' he said, describing Seville as 'another opportunity for them.'

'We shall obviously play with a little less pressure than them for having won three or four times over the past decade. That gives us a bit more tranquillity. And we shall also play on home ground, that always helps a bit.'

'But it will be a very complicated final, I have no doubt about that, they are very dangerous. Very high-level players on all the surfaces. We will either play well, or we will have much less options.'

When asked about widespread speculation that David Nalbandian will not play in the opening singles rubbers on Friday, and that the replacement will be his good friend Juan Monaco, Nadal pulls a wry face.

'I don't know. I don't think it's that clear, and I don't like to say things that obviously do not depend on me. Whoever will play, I need to work to prepare myself mentally for this match.'

Nadal said at the London Masters, where he lost two out of three matches, that he was lacking 'passion' for the game and that he needed more mental strength.

'It will be a complicated game, whoever it will be against, and I need to play on the best level I can reach. Juan has ended up playing very well this year, and David has prepared conscientiously for this event. He is a great Davis Cup player,' Nadal says.

'(Juan) Monaco is one of my best friends, without any doubt. He is as much or more of a friend than many Spaniards. And I've always got on great with Nalbandian. We have lived together for many years at the (tennis) courts, speaking the same language, spending a lot of time together in our rooms, going out for dinner...'

The weekend final is played on clay, on which Nadal has enjoyed most success, but he says that players these days must be all-rounders.

'You need to play well on all surfaces. Would you stress that the Argentinians play much better on clay than on hard court? Or much better on hard than on clay? Someone like Nalbandian, if he is inspired, can have it a bit easier on the hard court, but all the rest are more or less the same,'

Nadal, who completed a career Grand Slam last year on the grass of Wimbledon, says he can do a bit better on clay than on hard court, highlighted by six French Open titles.

His qualities as 'king of clay' angered Argentine fans in the past, when they saw their own Roland Garros top players like Gaston Gaudio or Guillermo Coria being crushed by the Spaniard from 2005 onwards.

Argentine tennis fans will hope for a reverse on the weekend and Nadal is urging Spaniards to outdo them.

'What we must achieve is that in this final, where more than 2,000 Argentinians will be present, the 20,000 Spaniards are heard much more,' he said.

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