Tennis Tour Tidbits – Rafael Nadal, Li Na, Novak Djokovic and more…

Written by: Staff on 6th May 2013

Tennis Tour Tidbits - Rafael Nadal, Li Na, Novak Djokovic and more...

epa03688490 Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic attends a press conference following his training session for the Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica pavilion in Madrid, central Spain, 05 May 2013. EPA/ALBERTO MARTIN |

Rafael Nadal was very upset about how Madrid’s blue clay courts played in 2012, but is thrilled with this year’s red clay courts. “I think they are great,” he said. “The only thing I can say is thank you to the tournament, for the money that they have invested to have the highest quality courts in here. I think that obviously the court last year was not up to the level that we needed. I think this year we have managed to have good clay here. The courts cannot be better.” . . .

Li Na says her coach of her coach of nine months, Carlos Rodriguez, has helped her in so many ways. “ I think for me he’s not only the tennis coach. I think after I was working with him I feel much stronger in my mind and also much stronger on the court. I trust him a lot.” . . .

Roger Federer reiterated that he will play Basel even without a contract: “I’ve had a great time there always, and I don’t want that to change just because of some business situation that couldn’t get solved,” he said. So I wanted to diffuse the situation and announce that I’m going to play without getting paid and just enjoy myself over there.” Federer had this to say about the passing of ATP CEO Brad Drewett: “He was always very nice to work with. Very honest. Very nice. Gentle. I’ve really enjoyed every step of the way working with him.” . . .

Novak Djokovic says that the players banding together to get more money out of the Grand Slams was more important than the increase itself. “That can be something to rely on for the future, not just for prize money increases,” he said. “ It’s not about money. It’s about players having a strong voice and players agreeing on what they want to have and what they see the tennis looking like in the future.”

Shelby Rogers claims USTA French Open wild card…

Maybe the reason why Venus Williams pulled out of Madrid with a back injury is possibly due to the exercise video she filmed just prior to the tournament and may have injured it at that time.

Topics: Brad Drewett, Li Na, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Shelby Rogers, Sports, Tennis News, Venus Williams