Carreño: “Nadal's resignation from Tokyo has not been a whim”

The Spanish tennis player Pablo Carreño will live in Tokyo 2020 the first Olympic Games of his career. He will arrive in Japan with the Hamburg tournament under his arm, the sixth in his career and, so far, the most important.

The 29-year-old Asturian tennis player beat Serbian Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 6-4 and added Hamburg to Marbella as successes obtained in this 2021. Six accumulates throughout his career the thirteenth tennis player on the circuit who previously triumphed in Chengdu in 2019, in Estoril in 2017 and in Moscow and Winston Salem in 2016.

Carreño will return to Spain and in the next few hours he will travel to Tokyo. Before, he attended the EFE Agency from Hamburg.

Question. What do you expect to find in Tokyo?

Answer: “It is a difficult moment but they have tried to start the Games in the best possible way. There will not be an audience and that will make them different and we will not be able to go to see other competitions that in an event like this always makes you excited. I don't know how the theme is going to be at the Olympic Village or the arrival in Japan. “

Q: Once there, in Tokyo, what is your idea, what is your goal?

A: “Reach one hundred percent. Acclimatize in the best way. I am not going to do everything I would like, nor am I going to have the desired time, but in the world of tennis we are used to it.”

Q: In the end, the Olympic tournament is going to have many casualties, important absences. The most recent that of the Italian Matteo Berrettini. Have you been particularly surprised by any?

A: “It is true that there are many casualties and each one has their reasons. Some due to the calendar, others due to injuries. I have given the reasons why I wanted to go from the beginning and that is what I am going to do.”

Q. Did you expect Rafa Nadal's absence or did you see it coming?

A: Rafa, in the end, is a 34 or 35 year old player who has already won two gold medals, one individual and one in doubles. He has played a lot throughout his career. But he had already given up on Wimbledon. It sure was not a whim. Sure you have thought a lot about it and what is best for your career.

Q: Who has confirmed your presence is Novak Djokovic. Is it the top favorite in Tokyo? Do you see him with a chance to win every title, Grand Slam and Olympic gold this year?

A: “Djokovic is above everyone. He seems unbeatable. He is at a very high level and if there is a favorite in Tokyo it is him. But he is also the opponent to beat, the one with all the pressure behind him. I fixate on him or what he's going to do. I have to focus on myself. “