When Nadal Returns To The Tour He May Concentrate On Clay Court Events

Written by: Staff on 5th September 2012

When Nadal Returns To The Tour He May Concentrate On Clay Court Events

epa03249093 Rafael Nadal of Spain returns to Juan Monaco of Argentina during their round of 16 match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2012. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

When he finally does heal the lingering knee injury which looks to be knocking him out of tennis for the entire second half of the ATP season, Rafael Nadal may well elect to change his schedule a bit and play more on the forgiving clay of South America.

And there is nothing that tournament directors in the tennis-starved region would like more than to get the Spanish king of clay onto their dirt in 2013. With the delicate state of his left knee and a long healing process now impacting his tennis life, the world number three might well be amenable to venturing onto the continent for extended periods.

With his 2012 season shot after playing his last match in a Wimbledon second-round loss and then being forced to rest and take treatment on his knee, Nadal is already looking optimistically ahead to trying and last until the Olympics in Rio. “”My enthusiasm and focus will be extended as much as possible my career and the dream of being in Rio 2016.”

Some insiders are wondering if Nadal will switch his post-Australian Open schedule from the hardcourt tests in Rotterdam and Dubai to the more knee-friendly clay venues of Acapulco or Buenos Aires during that same month.

“We’d love to have Nadal, that’s a no-brainer,” an Acapulco official told dpa. “We have shown interest, bit it’s not entirely up to us alone that Nadal comes,” he said of the Spaniard who last played in the southern part of the hemisphere at Buenos Aires in 2005.

Seven years ago Nadal won Costa do Sauipe and Acapulco just prior to taking number two ranking behind Roger Federer shortly afterwards.

Topics: clay court tennis, nadal, Rafa, Rafael Nadal, Sports, tennis injury, Tennis News