RAFAEL NADAL PLAYING IN ABU DHABI LOOKS “ROUGH” APPENDIX SURGERY IS A ” RECOVERY PROCESS ” WATCH ON TENNIS CHANNEL

Written by: Staff on 2nd January 2015

Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi

RAFAEL NADAL PLAYING IN ABU DHABI LOOKS "ROUGH" APPENDIX SURGERY IS A " RECOVERY PROCESS " WATCH ON TENNIS CHANNEL

epa04545014 Spain's Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Andy Murray of Britain during the Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2015 semi final match in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 02 January 2015. EPA/ALI HAIDER |

Comebacks are nothing new for Rafael Nadal and after his latest hiatus from the main tennis stage, which this time has lasted a mere 69 days, he knows what to expect today as he steps back into action at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.

But Nadal is insistent patience will be required, both from him and his fans, as he sets about making up for lost time.

The Abu Dhabi event might only be an exhibition and be seen by some as simply a warm up before Nadal next week defends his Qatar ExxonMobil Open title and thereafter heads to the Australian Open. But the 14-time Grand Slam champion realizes today’s battle with Andy Murray will be a tough encounter and said: “I know I will have to suffer a bit.”

Nadal has been through quite a lot of discomfort since losing 6-2, 7-6 to Borna Coric in the Swiss Indoors quarterfinal at Basel on October 24 last year. First the 28 year-old had a troublesome appendix removed, then underwent stem cell surgery of his back that had been an issue since last year’s Australian Open semi-final against Stan Wawrinka.

Nevertheless he has prepared well in Majorca and added: “My message to my fans here is that I am here. I know I am not going to arrive here and play a really high level of tennis.

“Injuries have been a part of my career, so I have to start off cautiously and the first two weeks of the season will help me to regain the physical and tennis feel, and the rhythm, needed on court.”

Nadal’s uncle and coach Toni is not with him in Abu Dhabi with regular deputy Francisco Roig filling the void. But the world no.3’s attention to detail in practice has again been exemplary and he commandeered the stadium court at the Zayed Sports City Tennis Stadium for his warm up session, much to the chagrin of world no.1 Novak Djokovic.

Nevertheless there was a hint of hesitance in Nadal’s voice as he suggested not too much should be made of his first week back in the company of such Grand Slam contenders. “My preparation is the same as every year, nothing has changed with my schedule. It’s true that this year is a little bit difficult because I come with no preparation and no feelings,” he said.

“When you are not able to practice weeks in a row, it is impossible to play well.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Andy Murray of Britain during the Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2015 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 02 January 2015. EPA/ALI HAIDER

“I hope the two matches here in Abu Dhabi will help me. From here, I am going to play in Doha, so all the time I spent on court is good for me. When you are out for a while, the comebacks are always difficult. So while I will try my best to win, the most important thing for me right now is to spend some time on the court.”

Nadal maintained it was premature to talk about his goals for 2015 and insisted: “The most important thing is being happy and, for sure, playing tennis and being healthy makes me happy. I need to find that positive feeling as soon as possible and hopefully that will give me an opportunity to compete against the best players .

Contents via Bob Larson tennis news.

Editors note. Rafa lost. …….This event has been fun to see all the guys in their new clothes. . We found the matches on the tennis channel last night. Andy Murray is in his new Under Armour . And Felicano Lopez is in his ELLESSE. Watch the tennis channel or the tennis channel plus.

Topics: Abu Dhabi, Mubadala World Tennis Championship, Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Rafa, Rafael Nadal, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

January 2, 2015 at 11:54 am

-@RafaelNadal PLAYING IN #AbuDhabi LOOKS “ROUGH” APPENDIX SURGERY IS A “RECOVERY PROCESS” WATCH ON @TennisChannel http://t.co/R5vZeX88sK
nieuwemarlean says:

January 2, 2015 at 1:30 pm

RT @TennisNewsOne: RAFAEL NADAL PLAYING IN ABU DHABI LOOKS “ROUGH” APPENDIX SURGERY IS A ” RECOVERY PROCESS ” WATCH ON T… http://t.co/RU…
AlexusJonesUSA says:

January 2, 2015 at 6:13 pm

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