Wimbledon - Nadal loss increases Wimbledon doubts

Eurosport - Fri, 19 Jun 09:30:00 2009

Champion Rafael Nadal's Wimbledon participation still hangs in the balance after his first outing on grass this season did not go according to plan.

TENNIS Spain's Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Australia's Lleyton Hewitt during the Tennis Classic at Hurlingham tournament in west London - 0

The world number one, troubled by tendinitis in his knees since being knocked out of the French Open in the fourth round last month, struggled with his movement during an exhibition match against Australian Lleyton Hewitt, which he lost 6-4 6-3.

"Rafa is having difficulties bending his knees and it (seems) that his various treatments are not enough," his coach and uncle Toni Nadal said.

Asked if the Spaniard would turn up to defend his title on Monday at the All England Club, he added: "I don't know, we have to wait for tomorrow (Friday)".

The 23-year-old will decide whether to play at Wimbledon after taking part in a second exhibition match against Stanislas Wawrinka at the Hurlingham Club on Friday.

Although the way Nadal plays puts a huge amount of pressure on his body and legs - the exaggerated topspin, the chasing and sliding - when it comes to the big tournaments he usually manages to play through the pain and flatten his opponents.

But if his hold on the All England Club crown ends in an exclusive sports club in Fulham and not down the road at Wimbledon, it will be a very sad day for world tennis.

"To think he might pull out of Wimbledon is quite frightening," French Open champion Roger Federer said last week after the Spaniard skipped the traditional warm-up tournament at Queen's Club to have treatment on his knees.

With no match practice on grass before this week, Nadal opted to test his fitness at Hurlingham.

The match had started promisingly for Nadal as he stepped on court without wearing any support around his troublesome knees. In his first service game, which lasted four deuces and eight minutes, he bent low to flick a volley winner and also ran around court chasing down the ball during a 17-shot rally.

But as the contest progressed, Nadal and his camp began to get more and more worried.

As Toni Nadal urged him to "bend down" to the ball during the second set, the Spaniard appeared to mutter, "I can't".

By the time the one hour 20 minute match finished, Nadal looked world weary and barely resembled the man who ended Federer's five-year reign at Wimbledon last July.

"He burned out both physically and mentally, he played too many tournaments in a row and it just got to him," Martina Navratilova said this week referring to Nadal's failure to win a record fifth successive French Open title.

"He just didn't look that happy on the court."

On Thursday, the only time the Spaniard managed a smile was when he was introduced on court as the player "whose top spin has been measured to generate 3200 revolutions a minute".

From then on, there was nothing much to smile about.

Reuters

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  1. aaditya what is your problem? RF is GOAT. Rafa is­ superb.
    Lose your poison pen and talk reality.

    PK

    From bergonzicat1, on Fri 19 Jun 6:47PM

  2. Having said that, i think Federer is the greatest ever.­ How can anyone accomplish what he has done and then go­ into a dip against a supreme champ like Rafa and then­ come back? Amazing!! Roger F is the GOAT!!!

    From bergonzicat1, on Fri 19 Jun 6:45PM

  3. antonio its ffunny who still post here after the slap­ you got on your face post roland garros but dickheads­ like you have no shame is another issue
    about federer­ being ashamed of me is none of your business
    you just­ take care of your slimy life

    From aaditya, on Fri 19 Jun 6:30PM

  4. I am a dyed-in-the-wool,paid up Fed fan. I want him to­ win as many slams as posible. I was delirious with­ delight when he won his 5th Wimby and even more so when­ he won the French. But Wimby, and Feds, need RAFA. Rafa­ is a superb athlete and the only serious competition­ for Feds at this point, although there are many other­ good ones who can win "on the day". I would­ say RAFA, take some time off and recover, not cos I am­ selfish for Feds to win more slams, but because you are­ supreme champ, and we want you back to compete­ PROPERLY!! You could be back within 6 months, but rest­ up then go for it for another 6-8 years. Paul K

    From bergonzicat1, on Fri 19 Jun 5:33PM

  5. Aaditya

    What a patheitc sad little so-called fan you­ are. I'm sure Roger Federer wouldn't want such­ a fan like yourself. You give him a bad name.

    From antoniobenetatos, on Fri 19 Jun 5:24PM
  6. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    loser nadal giving pathetic excuses.
    the writing is on­ the wall. illgotten short lived success story facing­ what every one predicted.
    hes burnt himsellf up.
    only­ mentally retarded t.w.a.t.s like cooolworld ( and his­ several alter egos) would still root for nadal
    even the­ nadal camp knows hes a goner.

    From aaditya, on Fri 19 Jun 5:11PM

  7. surely Rafa is wise enough to know that if one is not­ 100% mentally and physically fit, the wimbledon is not­
    the best match to play. it s gruelling and taxing for ­ mind and body. It s just a disasters to play when one­ is not totally fit. all the best Rafa we have all our­ good thoughts for you. /from a swede friend.

    From raymund, on Fri 19 Jun 4:03PM

  8. If Nadal's not fit he shouldn't play. Murray­ didn't play @ Wimbledon when he was injured and his­ career hasn't suffered. Though Hewitt took time off­ and he's never come back, but that was probably­ more due to interest rather than injury.

    From markmarsden, on Fri 19 Jun 3:18PM

  9. Get well Dear Special One,for many years,you've­­ been the only one who could put a stop to my man­­ Federer,to my own shame,you went on to utterly destroy­­ him and i thought you went one step further,if­­ that's even possible,on the ladder of­­ Greatness.But,to every one of your fan,i hope you will­­ forgive me,although for sure your knee is failing­ you,i­ think it is the number one spot that added to­ it.Mark­ my words,i have absolutely no doubt Nadal is­ and will­ remain among the most loved and greatest­ players,and­ that physical strain in a "give his­ all and more­ "game finally caught up with him,but­ the pressure­ of being number one has been the final­ nail in your­ ...no i refuse to say that word.And i­ believe as well­ as a good physio and strong healthy­ knees, your mental­ strengh as Number One has to be­ reinforced.To me­ it's no surprise health gave up­ on Nadal as­ soon as he reached top spot.He's­ proved to all­ he's a warrior though,and i'm­ sure he'll­ find a way.In the meantime,to all­ Federer's­ detractors,it took a very special man to­ dethrone him,a­ man we should all support,but­ that's what it took­ to overthrow Federer,and­ still,The Swiss Genius is­ still here after all,and­ that's the ultimate proof­ how truly great he is.

    From coolworld, on Fri 19 Jun 3:17PM

  10. about the toni bit roguein

    From ralph, on Fri 19 Jun 12:47PM

  11. he probably will poppy if rafa is not around unless of­ course one of the other top 10 doesnt step up to plate­ to challenge fed and my money is on delpotro to do that­ but things will be clearer after this wimbledon.

    From ralph, on Fri 19 Jun 12:44PM

  12. correct roguein in my humble opinion.

    From ralph, on Fri 19 Jun 12:42PM

  13. I'm really hoping Nadal won't play Wimbledon. ­ He is only 23. He'll probably have kids and stuff­ and, if he doesn't take a rest, he probably­ won't be fit enough to even run around with them in­ the park.

    From antoniobenetatos, on Fri 19 Jun 12:15PM

  14. we really don't want him to become a crippled­ athlete

    be sensible like sweetie intelligent Maria­ Sharapova,, take time off for a safe secure­ cure

    return refreshed in Australia 2010 ~~~ YOU KNOW­ IT MAKES SENSE ...! we want him fit & healthy

    From pitcrew66, on Fri 19 Jun 12:03PM

  15. Nadal, just take a break and go through the treatment.­ Tinger Woods did the same
    and he's back firing like­ he was not away from sport for one year six­ months.

    BEL pa zed

    From Brian, on Fri 19 Jun 10:15AM

  16. Pls stop chastising Tony Nadal. He is the man who has­ brought Nadal to where he belong right now. I'm­ sure Tony knows what he is doing. He is Rafa's­ uncle. So I know he loves Rafa more than any of us­ here. He makes decisions based not only on his own­ opinions. He consults everyone involved. The doctor,­ trainer, physio and of course what Rafa feel himself. ­ So, stop critisizing like you know everything more than­ Tony. He is the closest person to Rafa.

    From Roger, on Fri 19 Jun 10:05AM

  17. as much as it would be nice for nadal to defend his­ wimbledon title this year 2009, i personallly think­ that if he is still in pain, he should PULL OUT!!!! FOR­ HIS KNEES'SAKE, FOR HIS LIFE'S SAKE. AND FOR­ HIS FUTURE CAREER'S SAKE.because if hs knee is­ still inflammed, stressing it by playing will not make­ it any better,and we all kno d way he plays is­ stressful to his body and also he don't wanna go­ out there AND LOOOSE! seeing the way he played against­ lleyton hewitt., cos DAT WUD BE EVEN WORSE! so its­ better he pulls out and comes bakc when he is in full­ shape rather dan go out there lookin furious and not a­ smile on the face cos it can affect him mentallly.­ Goodluck to him and all the nadal fans shud keep­ praying for him.
    In the meantime, ROGER FEDERER FOR­ WIMBLEDON 2009! we are waiting 4 U!.....oh n hope lil­ roger is kickin alright and mirka toooooo, xxx

    From Amarachi, on Fri 19 Jun 10:02AM
  18. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Although I'm not happy about hearing that someone­ is injured,I am happy that Federer will get the chance­ to be number one again.I don't really like Nadal at­ all,but sure I respect him for the great player that he­ is. Nonetheless I believe Federer is better and will­ become number one again and stay there for a long time­ comming.

    From Poppy, on Fri 19 Jun 10:00AM

  19. The knee injury is not a new problem for Nadal, it has­ been there for years. He knew it and he won #1 in the­ expense of his knees. Yes, he has played too many­ tournaments, may be forced by Toni, but definitely not­ by ATP. So only himself can be blamed for. The best­ advice for him is to have a break and back with a­ healthy body if he wants more trophies.

    From CK, on Fri 19 Jun 9:59AM

  20. 185 - well obviously Nadal won't get all 4 slams­ this year since Federer has already won RG. But he­ could well do it at some point in his career. If­ he's suffering an injury now though he needs to­ allow it to heal and not play through the pain - it­ could be the difference between recovery or retirement.

    From Rude God, on Fri 19 Jun 9:52AM
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