Del Potro Disagrees With Rafael Nadal About Court Surfaces

Written by: Staff on 15th February 2013

Del Potro Disagrees With Rafael Nadal About Court Surfaces

epa03543791 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina hits a backhand during his 3rd round match against Jeremy Chardy of France at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 19 January 2013. EPA/Dennis Sabangan |

Argentine Juan Del Potro has offered a contrasting opinion after Rafael Nadal’s angry supposition that hard court ATP play is damaging player health. The Argentine who won the 2009 US Open, said that it’s up to each player to make his own scheduling choices.

“Hard court might not be the best for his (Nadal’s) knees, that’s true,” said Del Potro, ranked seventh on the ATP. “But of course he’s fantastic on clay, that’s his surface.

“I’m sure that before long he will be the Rafa of before and that he’ll be healthy for the future. But for me, playing on hard courts is fine,” said the winner of six of his 13 trophies on cement outdoor surfaces.

Nadal is hoping for a comeback to tennis after more than seven months away, and is playing this week on indoor clay in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Del Potro, competing in Rotterdam in an event headlined by Roger Federer, said that as No. 7 he’s still not in the same league as the “big four.”

But he added: “I know that I can improve. The top four are there for a reason, they are playing better than me, I know that I can beat them, but I need to improve my level. That’s what I’m working on, like trying to come to the net more.

“Right now, I’m happy with my ranking, I’m not frustrated.”

©Daily Tennis News

Topics: Argentine tennis, Juan Martin Del Potro, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sao Paulo tennis news, Sports, Tennis News, tennis surfaces