Rafael Nadal’s Court Future Is Cloudy

Written by: Staff on 25th September 2012

Rafael Nadal’s Court Future Is Cloudy

epa03258065 Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts during his final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 10 June 2012. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

Former world no.1 and reigning French Open champion Rafael Nadal gave the clearest indication yet that he will not play again in 2012 and the condition of his troublesome right knee continues to give concern that the remainder of his career may be compromised.

Nadal has not played for three months since losing early at Wimbledon to Lukas Rosol and his injury, at first diagnosed as tendonitis, is now accepted as a degeneration of the tendon linked to the patella. Currently the 26 year-old insists he is swimming up to a mile a day but he has not gone anywhere near a tennis court so hopes seem slight that he might return for either the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals that begin in London on November 5, or Spain’s trip to Prague for the Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic, beginning November 16.

Speaking to the London Daily Mail in Madrid to promote his involvement with PokerStars, the online card game that gives fans a chance to play against him, Nadal admitted even his participation in the Australian Open, beginning January 14: “I hope you see me in Australia. That is the biggest goal for me, to come back just before then in Qatar, but I cannot say for sure it is going to happen.

“All that is in my mind is to keep working hard to come back. I cannot think about the future because it’s not like if you break your arm and you know you will have a few weeks like this, then a few weeks like that and then you are back. This is a day-by-day thing, I have checks every week to see how I’m improving.

“The only thing is to recover well. I want to be 100 per cent when I come back. I don’t want to keep playing every day with doubts, not knowing if my knee is going to answer all the questions.”

Nadal insists that his knee was hurting at the end of the spring’s clay court season, when he won a seventh French Open title at Roland Garros after also prevailing again in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.

“Was it a mistake to play at Wimbledon? Maybe, but when you are playing well it is hard to stop,” revealed Nadal. “At Roland Garros I had to play with anti-inflammatories to get through.

“After that I felt really bad. My practice before Wimbledon was terrible. I played the first round with injections, otherwise it would have been impossible. That doesn’t help the knee.

“I’ve played a lot in pain before as other people have done. The problem is when you run and you are thinking about where you are planting your leg. It is impossible to compete like that.”

Nadal admitted there was no chance for him to contest either the Olympic Games, on grass at Wimbledon, or the US Open. “For me the Olympics was very tough,” he said. “I was very, very sad for three weeks around then.

“I had the chance to carry the Spanish flag. It only comes every four years. Missing the US Open was hard but you think you will have more chances. The Olympics is once every four years and you don’t know how many more you will get. I will work very hard to be in Rio but it is in four years.

“I am 26-and-a-half, I love competition, playing tennis, and this was actually a season I enjoyed playing more than others. I have the motivation to come back and that’s what I’m going to try.”

Nadal intimated there has been some thought on possibly changing his schedule and playing more clay court tournaments in South America early next year rather than compete on hard courts which worsen his condition.

He said: “I can’t pretend not to play on hard courts when two of the Slams are on hard courts, but there is a mistake with our game. You don’t watch footballers playing on a hard surface, or basketball players, those sports with rapid movements.

“It’s not going to change for me and my generation. Hard courts are very negative for the body. I know the sport is a business and creating these courts is easier than clay or grass, but I am 100 per cent sure it is wrong. I may have to play more on clay than before but there aren’t that many options.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

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