Nadal braced for new Wimbledon rollercoaster
Spaniard pessimistic of the opportunity to win 15th grand slam title.
Rafael Nadal believes Wimbledon is not the title which will decorate his trophy cabinet as the 15th grand slam. PHOTO: AFP
PARIS:
Rafael Nadal is bracing himself for another Wimbledon letdown as he prepares to rekindle his love-hate relationship with the All England Club.
The 28-year-old Spaniard stormed to a ninth French Open triumph on Sunday with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 win over Novak Djokovic which also secured his 14th Grand Slam crown.
But he is not optimistic about collecting a 15th major when Wimbledon gets under way on June 23 despite having been champion on two occasions.
His first title in 2008 was followed by a knee injury-enforced absence 12 months later.
In 2010, he was the Wimbledon champion for a second time before finishing runner-up to Djokovic the following year.
Things then got steadily worse with a second round exit against Lukas Rosol in 2012 sparking a seven-month absence from the tour as his knee problems flared up again, while in 2013, he was dumped out in the first round by Belgian journeyman Steve Darcis.
That was the only time Nadal has ever exited a Grand Slam in the first round.
“I am going to Halle on Monday (for the grass court warm-up event in Germany). I want to try to play well at Wimbledon again,” said Nadal.
“I am healthy, that’s the most important thing. I hope my knee will have a positive feeling on grass because I felt my knee was better last year on other surfaces.
“Grass is always a little bit harder for me after injury. I played Wimbledon in 2012 with my knee injury and I never played another match after. Last year I tried but I was not ready enough to compete.
“Let’s see how my feelings this year are because it’s a very important tournament.”
He added that his rollercoaster form in the pre-Roland Garros claycourt season, when he lost three matches for the first time in a decade, was a direct result of shattering loss to Stan Wawrinka in Australian Open final in Melbourne.
“Stan played amazingly, I don’t know if I would have been able to beat him. But I didn’t compete in that match and that was hard to accept.
“I had a few months where I went down mentally. I was fighting but didn’t feel strong enough. But for the last month, I had my motivation and positive feelings on court again.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2014.
Rafael Nadal is bracing himself for another Wimbledon letdown as he prepares to rekindle his love-hate relationship with the All England Club.
The 28-year-old Spaniard stormed to a ninth French Open triumph on Sunday with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 win over Novak Djokovic which also secured his 14th Grand Slam crown.
But he is not optimistic about collecting a 15th major when Wimbledon gets under way on June 23 despite having been champion on two occasions.
His first title in 2008 was followed by a knee injury-enforced absence 12 months later.
In 2010, he was the Wimbledon champion for a second time before finishing runner-up to Djokovic the following year.
Things then got steadily worse with a second round exit against Lukas Rosol in 2012 sparking a seven-month absence from the tour as his knee problems flared up again, while in 2013, he was dumped out in the first round by Belgian journeyman Steve Darcis.
That was the only time Nadal has ever exited a Grand Slam in the first round.
“I am going to Halle on Monday (for the grass court warm-up event in Germany). I want to try to play well at Wimbledon again,” said Nadal.
“I am healthy, that’s the most important thing. I hope my knee will have a positive feeling on grass because I felt my knee was better last year on other surfaces.
“Grass is always a little bit harder for me after injury. I played Wimbledon in 2012 with my knee injury and I never played another match after. Last year I tried but I was not ready enough to compete.
“Let’s see how my feelings this year are because it’s a very important tournament.”
He added that his rollercoaster form in the pre-Roland Garros claycourt season, when he lost three matches for the first time in a decade, was a direct result of shattering loss to Stan Wawrinka in Australian Open final in Melbourne.
“Stan played amazingly, I don’t know if I would have been able to beat him. But I didn’t compete in that match and that was hard to accept.
“I had a few months where I went down mentally. I was fighting but didn’t feel strong enough. But for the last month, I had my motivation and positive feelings on court again.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2014.