Nadal wants to return to explore Philippines’ famous beaches

Rafael Nadal celebrates a point as his Indian Aces went up against Serena Williams’ PH Mavericks in Day 3 of the IPTL Manila Leg. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

His three days in Manila have been all hard work and you can’t blame the guy for wanting to come back and have some fun under the sun.

Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal said he’s looking forward to going back to the Philippines soon to experience the country’s famous islands and beaches.

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“I didn’t have the time to visit the country, and I know there are beautiful things here, ” Nadal said in a press conference after his Micromax Indian Aces’ loss to the Philippine Mavericks, 25-24, Tuesday night at Mall of Asia Arena.

“I have been working, staying with you (members of the press), doing different things for sponsors,” Nadal, who even conducted a tennis clinic last Sunday in Makati, also said.

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The 14-time Grand Slam champion hails from Mallorca, Spain, which is also a famous beach destination like the Philippines.

“I know there’s amazing beaches [here]. I’m from an island [too], so I’m going to come back and visit the islands here in the Philippines,” the Spaniard said.

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Nadal is in the country together with Serena Williams and other tennis stars for the Manila leg of the 2015 International Premiere Tennis League (IPTL).

READ: Nadal, Williams bask in PH tennis love

This year’s IPTL has five competing teams: Micromax Indian Aces, Philippine Mavericks, Legendari Japan Warriors, OUE Singapore Slammers and OBI UAE Royals.

Before Manila, the IPTL was in Tokyo, Japan to kick off the tournament. The league is headed to New Delhi, India (Dec. 8-12) for the next leg before proceeding to Dubai, UAE (Dec. 14-16) and Singapore (Dec. 18-20). Mark Giongco