Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal has expressed his excitement at the opportunity to get to know Colombia during his upcoming visit to Bogota for a friendly match against Novak Djokovic.
“The truth is that I am very excited because I have never been to Colombia, a country that everyone has told me fantastic things about,” the nine-time Grand Slam champion told El Espectador Wednesday.
The Spanish world number one is due to play the Australian Open-winning Serbian on Monday 21, March, following the conclusion of the Indian Wells ATP tournament currently taking place in California.
Should Nadal live up to his billing as the world’s best player, it could mean that he plays the final just one day before arriving in Colombia, although the Majorcan appeared unfazed by the tight schedule, even with the Sony Ericsson Open due to get underway in Miami a few days later.
“Obviously the calendar makes it difficult, and that there is no tournament played near Colombia complicates it a little bit more,” he , before adding that the date nevertheless “seems appropriate.”
He also spoke highly of Colombian tennis prospect Santiago Giraldo, noting that he “is a very young player with very high potential.”
Nadal hopes to continue his progress in the Indian Wells tournament today with his fourth-round match against the Indian Somdev Devvarman.