Nadal Rests to Play Harder—Nathan’s Blog

Written by: Staff on 29th December 2011

Nadal Rests to Play Harder—Nathan’s Blog |

By: Nathan M. Cuny

Currently suffering from a sore shoulder Rafael Nadal only recently decided to defend his title in Abu Dhabi. On Friday, December 30^th Nadal plays the semifinals match against either David Ferrer or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Shortly after playing in Abu Dhabi, Nadal will move on to the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, Qatar.

When recently interviewed regarding his shoulder Nadal stated, “I had a problem before London with my shoulder and I had to stop for about 10 days before the (ATP) finals. It felt better but again it resurfaced. In December, I did not have enough time to practice because of that.” Even with his sore shoulder Nadal remains positive about his title defense in Abu Dhabi. If Nadal wins it will mark his third year in a row remaining victorious in Abu Dhabi. After competing in the Australian Open, Nadal plans on taking several weeks off during the month of February to practice and rest his shoulder.

Currently ranked No.2 Nadal has big hopes for 2012. During the 2011 season Nadal won a total of 3 titles, far below his average of 7 titles a year from 2005 to 2010. Rafael Nadal believes he became too predictable in 2011—blaming his predictability on why Djokovic was able to defeat him during 6 finals.

With the upcoming London Olympic Games, Nadal looks forward to the title defense of his Olympic gold medal. Nadal plans on pushing himself harder in 2012, Rafa stated, “I tell myself: ‘If I do a bit more, I will be nearly back to winning things again.’ That is the motivation. Recovering the extra will that makes you give a bit more of yourself. I have to get back to my cruising altitude, which should be higher. From Indian Wells to Wimbledon and the Olympic Games is where I have to recover my best level.”

Nadal knows his 2011 season was not as horrible as many have made it seem, finishing with a 69-15 win loss record for the season. He completed 2011 with one Grand Slam, one Master’s 1000 title, and the ATP 500 title in Barcelona. As 2012 begins Nadal is finally overcoming the stupor induced both on him and Federer by Djokovic’s sudden rise. With his confidence regained, Nadal stated, “This is not the time to change many things. This is the time to keep playing well, to keep improving my tennis. I will just try and be competitive in all the tournaments. I was competitive in all the tournaments and was in three Grand Slam finals.” Fan’s can catch Nadal playing in Abu Dhabi Friday, shortly after in Doha, Qatar on the 1^st of January, and finally at the Australian Open beginning January 16^th, before he goes on sabbatical.

Topics: Rafael Nadal