❧❧❧ Whatever you can do or dream, you can BEGIN IT. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Goethe ❧❧❧
❧❧❧ You were born whole, not broken. Sandra Hammel ❧❧❧
Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina is congratulated by Rafael Nadal of Spain after their match during the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup at Uniprix Stadium August 14, 2009 in Montreal, Canada.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates a point against Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina during the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup at Uniprix Stadium August 14, 2009 in Montreal, Canada.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty
Results Montreal Rogers Cup 2009
Juan Martin DEL POTRO (ARG) defeated Rafael NADAL (ESP)
Rafael Nadal of Spain acknowledges the crowd after defeating Philipp Petzschner of Germany during the Rogers Cup at Uniprix Stadium August 13, 2009 in Montreal, Canada.
Round 3
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America
Rafa serving during the Rogers Cup at Uniprix Stadium August 13, 2009 in Montreal, Canada. Round 3 Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America
Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot to David Ferrer of Spain during the Rogers Cup at Uniprix Stadium August 12, 2009 in Montreal, Canada.
Round 2
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America
Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot to David Ferrer of Spain during the Rogers Cup at Uniprix Stadium August 12, 2009 in Montreal, Canada.
Round 2
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America
U.S. President Barack Obama (R) presents the Medal of Freedom to tennis champion Billie Jean King during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House August 12, 2009 in Washington, DC. Obama presented the medal, the highest civilian honor in the United States, to 16 recipients during the ceremony.
August 11, 2009 Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America
Rafa Montreal's Rogers Cup Round 3 August 13, 2009 Photo credit: AP
Rafa Montreal's Rogers Cup Round 3 August 13, 2009 Photo credit: AP
Rafa Montreal's Rogers Cup Round 3 August 13, 2009 Photo credit: AP
Rafa Montreal's Rogers Cup Round 3 August 13, 2009 Photo credit: Getty Images
Rafa Montreal's Rogers Cup Round 3 August 13, 2009 Photo credit: AFP
Rafa Round 2 with fellow countrymen David Ferrer Ferrer withdrew in the first set at score 4- 3 Rafa in the lead Photo credit: AP
Rafa Round 2 with fellow countrymen David Ferrer Ferrer withdrew in the first set at score 4- 3 Rafa in the lead Photo credit: AP
Press interview after David Ferrer vs. Rafael Nadal Montreal Round 2 match
THE MODERATOR:Questions, please.
Q.Little shorter than you might have liked today?
RAFAEL NADAL:Yeah, I never expect this, this bad thing for David, so I just I can say sorry to him and just wish him the very fast recovery to be ready for Cincinnati.
So, yeah, I know it's tough to have to go out and have to go out of court, so yeah, just sorry for him. And for me, it was nice have a victory like this, and I say before I here to improve every day, to enjoy every game, every point.Just like this, I going to have chances to be ready as fast as possible.
Q.How did you feel playing the match after such a long time?
RAFAEL NADAL:Sure, a little bit strange, no?The first movements is tough and hard to move well and to feel confident when you are touching the ball.
But, you know, that's the normal thing.I have to I must be happy, because I didn't play terrible.And the next round, I have another chance tomorrow to continuing to improve.Every match, every game is important to feel better for me.
Q.How are your knees?
RAFAEL NADAL:Yeah, was okay.Need more days to have real test, but it was okay.
Q.Did you find the doubles matches helped you?
RAFAEL NADAL:Sure, the doubles is important or the two matches of doubles was important matches for me to start, to compete, no?Always these matches help me.
Q. You're saying that you like to learn more and more every day and you're always trying to improve.It's something to watch you on the court because we see if you're practicing, learning a new skill like, for example, last year your serve on grass or your backhand changing maybe a little bit.The coach was telling me he saw a difference at the Australian Open.For the different surfaces you're always improving a lot on the court, but I feel like the challenges you've gone through in the last couple months are all challenges off the court.Do you see that as just another part of tennis, another element that you have to learn to prepare for dealing with injury, dealing with setbacks that you're not used to facing?
RAFAEL NADAL:(Through translation.)
No, you know, the calendar is tough, and you don't have a lot of choices, no? For me, you can learn because the career always every year is an experience and you can learn about everything, but I think when you play, if not the one or the second who play more matches the last five years, it's normal to have some problems.
Q.What I'm saying is you see injury as just another part of tennis the same way a forehand is.Do you see setbacks off the court?Tennis is a very allencompassing game.
THE MODERATOR:What is the question?
Q.Do you see injury, coming back from injury, as just another part of the game, just like...
RAFAEL NADAL:Everybody, when you injury, you have to come back.What I can say?Is a normal thing of sports, so that's it
Q.Andy Roddick said the courts are very slow and the ball was moving slow.You felt that?
RAFAEL NADAL:The court was very slow?
Q.Yeah, the court was very slow.
RAFAEL NADAL:No, I didn't think so, no, no.
No, I don't know.He's coming from Washington, no?So the feeling for the players always depends.If the week before you play in a faster place and next week you play in a little bit of slower place, you feel like it's very slow.And if you're playing in a slow place and the next week you play in a little bit faster, you feel like it's very fast.So it's always depends on the last feeling you had.
I think the court is not very fast and not very slow.I think it's between.
Q.What was the feeling of walking out on a court for a real match again after all that time?
RAFAEL NADAL:Yeah, it's always a pleasure to come back, and the feeling well, only happen one month and a half; it's not three years outside of tennis.That's the true, no?
Sure, it's happy to come back here and playing another time.But the feeling is normal, like always.I feel well when I go on court all the time, and today wasn't an exception.
Sure, when you have a few time outside of competition, when you come back it's a little bit more exciting.
Q.Can you give an example of how hardcourts are tougher on your body than maybe clay courts or grass courts?
RAFAEL NADAL:Well, let's talk about the same, no?I say 200,000 times, yeah, the hardcourt is tougher for the body than the grass and clay.No doubt of that.I think nobody have a doubt of that.That's it.
Q.Were you trying to be a little careful today, or were you going all the way on your body?
RAFAEL NADAL:I tried.I tried everything, put my 100%, but when you come back from an injury, it's difficult to move well the first match.You have more matches to get the confidence of the movements, on the feeling of the ball, so I need more time.
Q. Is it a positive first match? Is it a positive first test?
RAFAEL NADAL: Anything gonna be everything gonna be positive. Only bad thing can be is if I have another time problems with the knees, but the rest of the things, everything is positive, no? Every match, every point. Because everything is helping me to be ready as soon as possible when I return to my level.
Right now I'm probably not at my best level, but everything is important. If I lose tomorrow and if I have a match, is it going to be interesting for me to have more hours on court?
Q. You struggled with your first serve. Are you a little bit disappointed about that?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, it's it's normal. The feeling, it's different now because I practice during the afternoon and the ball was faster than right now, the night. The ball was bigger.
No, I didn't I was serving really well, all the day, practicing. The first day, first match, a little bit nervous. At the same time, David is a big returner.
At the same time, I want to push a little bit more than usual. After, when I had the 3All, the match from 32 to 33, I have some serves slow. I was serving 190, 195, 200, and in this game, I had some serve, 175, so that's give me more confidence, no?
Q. Can you just talk about your next opponent.
RAFAEL NADAL: He's a very aggressive player, no? Very good serve, very good forehand.
Today he had very good win against Robredo. Yeah, sure, every match going to be very difficult for me.
.............................................
............................................. In Spanish Round 2 report Uploaded by vamosrafelnadal
I am only doing this post because I saw Rafa wearing sleeveless in Montreal. I am sick and should be elsewhere right now in a lateral position. We can only hope for the singles match to bare the Rafa arms, as well. But, word is that we will be disappointed.
Fans worldwide are gleeful at the sight of Rafa on court
AND
Rafa Sleeveless in Montreal
I can tell Rafa is back because of the number of hits on my blog posts with Rafa as the subject over the last day and a half.
Rafa and Francisco lost to 7th seeded team Max Mirnyi (BLR) and Andy Ram (ISR) Tuesday, August 11, 2009 6-4, 3-6, 8-10
Rafa is scheduled to play his first singles match Wednesday evening, August 12, 2009 David Ferrer is his opponent. The first evening match on Court Central Time: not before 7:00 p.m. EDT
Spain's Rafael Nadal, left, and doubles partner Francisco Roig (41 years old), also from Spain, congratulate each other during their match against Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Dusan Vemic at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament in Montreal
Monday, August 10, 2009 Photo credit: AP
7-5 6-4 in under one hour and 10 minutes
Doubles Match Montreal, Monday, Aug.10, 2009
Photo credit: AP
Doubles Match Montreal, Monday, Aug.10, 2009
Photo credit: AP
Rafael Nadal and Francisco Roig Spain versus Novak Djokovic and Dusan Vemic of Serbia during the Rogers Cup at Uniprix Stadium August 10, 2009 in Montreal, Canada.
Photo credits of above two: Matthew Stockman of Getty Images North America
Rogers Cup website http://www.rogerscup.com/men/english/home.php I find the Rogers Cup website user-unfriendly. The Wednesday (August 12) order of play isn't posted there and it is Wednesday in 10 minutes as I post this updated comment.
Defending Rogers Cup champion Rafael Nadal reflects on return from injury as he makes his first appearance since Roland Garros this week at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal. Uploaded by ATPWorldTour Rafael Nadal play his first competitive match Monday, August 10, 2009 in the doubles competition. The Australian Open champ and his doubles partner, Francisco Roig are schedulled to play fourth in the BN Court against Novak Djokovic and Dusan Vemic.
Rafa has a bye in the singles in Montreal - the Rogers Cup. He will play either Davie Ferrer or Viktor Troicki in round two. He isn't scheduled for Tuesday, so I am thinking maybe Wednesday, August 12, 2009, is when Rafa will play.
Breaking news Coach and Uncle Toni Nadal confirms Rafa will play in Montreal. He flies on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 Source: www.marca.com/2009/08/03/tenis
Toni says that Rafa's level won't probably be his best in Montreal, and that the first matches will show his real form, because he has not pushed to hard during practicing.
Toni says that the goal is that Rafa plays at his best at the US OPEN. He adds that the number 1 ranking is not the main goal, but that Rafa plays well, in good conditions, and gives his maximum. And he adds that then, they will see if Rafa can beat players as Federer, Murray, Djokovic.
Rafael Nadal will return to action at next week's Montreal Masters event after a two-month lay off with injury, his coach and uncle Toni Nadal said.
The Spaniard has been suffering from tendinitis in both knees and has not played a competitive match since being knocked out in the fourth round of the French Open by Robin Soderling on May 31.
"Rafa will play in Montreal. It is good news for us," Toni Nadal told Radio Marca.
"It's another thing to know what standard he will be at. I imagine he won't be in very good condition. He has been training but without really pushing it very much
"To see what form he's in we'll have to see how he copes in a proper match."
During his time away from the court, Nadal lost his French Open and Wimbledon titles and his number one ranking to Swiss rival Roger Federer.
In an interview last week, Nadal cast doubts as to whether he would be fit to defend his title in Montreal.
"There is no particular objective at present," Nadal's coach continued. "The challenge is to get back into form and to be in good shape for the US Open."
The US Open starts on August 31.
Reuters
................................................. ................................................. Rafa Nadal confirmed that he will play in Montreal, Canada in the Masters where he won the title in 2008. In Spanish
Highlights from the final at the 2008 Rogers Masters in Toronto. Rafael Nadal takes on Nicolas Keifer. ATP Masters Series marquee matches at http://www.atpmastersseries.tv
Montreal Entry List/Fact Sheet (updated July 5, 2009)
ROGERS CUP MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA AUGUST 10-16, 2009 Prize Money: US $3,000,000 (US $2,430,000)
Seeding: August 3, 2009 1 Nadal, Rafael ESP 2 Federer, Roger SUI 3 Murray, Andy GBR 4 Djokovic, Novak SRB 5 Del Potro, Juan Martin ARG 6 Roddick, Andy USA 7 Simon, Gilles FRA 8 Verdasco, Fernando ESP 9 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried FRA 10 Gonzalez, Fernando CHI 11 Davydenko, Nikolay RUS 12 Soderling, Robin SWE 13 Cilic, Marin CRO 14 Monfils, Gael FRA 15 Robredo, Tommy ESP 16 Nalbandian, David ARG 17 Blake, James USA 18 Wawrinka, Stanislas SUI 19 Gasquet, Richard FRA 20 Berdych, Tomas CZE 21 Ferrer, David ESP 22 Tursunov, Dmitry RUS 23 Stepanek, Radek CZE 24 Safin, Marat RUS 25 Fish, Mardy USA Plus many more
Rafa Nadal is young, genuine and deeper than we know, I suspect. It has been a difficult year for Rafa. Hopefully, his knees will allow him to come back and play his beloved tennis.
Besides his hard work and talent on the tennis court, Rafa is admired for his humility, straight talk with tact, kindness and a giving spirit.
All the best to Rafa and his family.
Next possible tournament
Montreal Masters August 8 - 16, 2009 Rafa will decide in the next few days if he will be playing in Montreal.
......................................... Interview - first half Uploaded by gandaines2
July 29th, 2009
Lorenzo Mila and Rosana Romero from TVE (the leading news channel in Spain) interviewed Rafa Nadal yesterday at his summer house in Porto Cristo.
During the show, Rafa spoke about his days away from the tennis courts, about his recovery, his return to the tennis circuit, but most importantly, how he is...
So how is Rafa Nadal?
“Good, the truth is that I feel good. But also, I have to wait and see how I continue to recover because I’ve only been back training for a week and a half and you always feel a bit better anemically. You start with lots of hope, but again, the real test would be to see how I go when I really push my knees and I think that is likely to happen in the upcoming days. So I hope it’s all good,” said Rafa.
What happened?
“What happened was that I was in a lot of pain for a while, when I came back from Miami and I was training in Manacor, I started to feel a strong pain, especially in my right knee. It was a different kind of pain [to what I’ve experienced before], so I took off the bandages in my knees,” he explained…”and everyone thought that it was because I felt great, but the problem was that it didn’t hurt there anymore, now it hurt in the superior end of the knee cap. And well, the bandages weren’t helping me at all and that’s when it all started to get worse, little by little.”
Rafa said that he should have rested after Rome to play at his best in Roland Garros, but he wanted to play the Masters Series Tournament in Madrid, which turned out to be a big mistake. At the same time, he admitted that he had “been playing almost every day with an anti-inflammatory and I had too much pain to play well at both tournaments that were important for me, Roland Garros and Wimbledon."
"I decided it was best to stop and recover," because "you lose the drive to go back to train and compete, because you are not with the same energy, little by little it destroys you," he explained.
According to Rafa, it is "knowing how to overcome difficult situations or face them with a positive mindset and learn to enjoy suffering," that has kept him going. "It is a virtue that I’ve always had, I like to suffer, I have learned to enjoy suffering and I believe that is what helps me."
At the same time, the support and love he has received from his fans and family has been the one highlight out of this painful experience. “Without doubt, the best memory in the last two months has been the support I have received from everyone. From my website, where they’ve sent me tons of messages. I have nothing but gratitude for their gesture”.
So what has Rafa been doing in the last two months?
"I have spent more hours on the couch these past two months than in the past four years", he confessed.
This time away from competition has also allowed Rafa to follow other aspects of the sport today, politically and economically, "I've been able to follow many things, to see how colleagues have won some very important things, such as Contador at the Tour of France, or Pau Gasol in the NBA when he won 'the ring'. Of course I'm interested in the [economic] crisis and also in politics, but I never like to talk about those things".
The four-time Roland Garros champion said that his "dream" is to return to the ATP for the August 9 start of the Montreal Masters Series event, "I would like to come back in Montreal in a week and a half. I [will] have to force the knees and just see how far I can go."
"My main objective is not to regain the number one ranking. My main goal is to be well and happy to be playing tennis," Rafa said.
"I’m mentally ready to return now!"
Vamos Rafa!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nadal: "Mi problema real son las rodillas"
The google English translation is below the Spanish text here.
ELENA VILLAÉCIJA28.07.2009Tras dos meses de parón, Rafa Nadal piensa ya en su vuelta a las pistas. El tenista ha concedido una entrevista exclusiva a Televisión Española, en la que quiso desmentir los rumores que apuntan a problemas familiares (la separación de sus padres) como la causa de su bajón físico. "Soy humano y es difícil de asimilar, pero no es lo que me ha afectado, el problema real eran las rodillas", aseguró.
Nadal aseguró que lo tiene "casi totalmente superado" y quiso aclarar que "eso sucedió hace varios meses y yo gané en Indian Wells, en Barcelona y en Roma. Sinceramente, mi problema real son las rodillas".
Después de estar dos meses alejado de la competición, el manacorense afronta con incertidumbre su vuelta. "El respeto que tengo por mis rivales hace que tenga muchas más dudas antes de empezar un torneo. Yo ahora mismo soy un mar de dudas".
Aunque su objetivo es competir en el torneo de Montreal, que arranca el próximo 8 de agosto, Nadal quiere "estar seguro de estar bien para volver a entrar en una pista". Por eso, no se atreve a fijar una fecha para su vuelta. "No lo sé ni yo, me gustaría estar en Montreal en una semana y media. Voy a forzar para probarme antes". "Me siento preparado mentalmente, cuando esté bien voy a volver para darlo todo", declaró.
Lo que sí aseguró es que la decisión de su vuelta es libre y que nunca ha "tenido presión para volver", ni de los patrocinadores ni de la ATP.
No le preocupa el número uno
Su principal preocupación no es recuperar el número uno, ahora en posesión de Federer, sino "estar bien, estar feliz jugando al tenis y mejorar, y para eso tengo que estar bien de las rodillas".
El tenista Rafa Nadal,que ha estado dos meses parado y que volvió a los entrenamientos hace apenas unas semanas aseguró que se encuentra bien, aunque "hay que ver cómo evoluciono cuando fuerce de verdad las rodillas, que será en los siguientes días, y ojalá que sea buena la evolución".
Disfrutar sufriendo
Nadal comentó cómo empezaron sus problemas físicos. "Llevaba varios meses con dolores. Cuando volví de Miami me empezó a doler la rodilla derecha, era un dolor distinto. Me quité las vendas y todo el mundo pensó que estaba perfecto, pero el problema es que ya no me dolía abajo, me dolía la parte superior de la rótula".
Nadal confiesa que a partir de entonces "todo empezó a empeorar, se fueron poniendo parches al dolor" hasta que dijo basta. "Decidí que era mejor parar y recuperarme" porque llega un momento en el que "uno pierde la ilusión, no te ves con la misma energía, te va destrozando".
El tenista admite que llegó a jugar durante mucho tiempo con dolor. "He estado jugando casi todos los días con antiinflamatorios y con infiltración algún día en Roland Garros", razón por la que llegó "demasiado cascado a los dos torneos más importantes: Roland Garros y Wimbledon".
Nadal reconoce que ha aprendido a convivir con el sufrimiento. "Sufres demasiado en cada momento, a mí me gusta sufrir, personalmente. He aprendido a disfrutar sufriendo. Creo que es una virtud que tengo. Cuando cada día vas entrenando mal, cuando cada partido se convierte en una historia que no sabes cómo vas a estar, la cabeza está llena de dudas". "No he sabido cuándo parar"
El mallorquín ha estado dos meses parado, dos meses que reconoce que han sido muy difíciles. "Al principio sin ilusión de hacer muchas cosas, estaba tocado mentalmente, sentía que no había hecho las cosas como debía".
Y es que Nadal reconoce que debió parar antes y que no debió disputar el Masters de Madrid. "Fue un error mío. El máximo responsable de mí mismo soy yo. El problema es mío por no saber valorar cuándo parar, cuándo descansar", "quise jugar en Madrid y a toro pasado creo que fue un error".
En estos dos meses de parón, el manacorense ha estado centrado en su recuperación, trabajando más de cinco horas al día con máquinas, aunque también ha tenido tiempo para descansar. "He estado más horas en el sofá en estos dos meses que en los últimos cuatro años", bromeó.
También habló su rival y actual número uno, Roger Federer, de quien confesó que no le ha llamado en estos dos meses de parón. "No creo que su objetivo sea el número uno", sino "volver a ganar algún Grand Slam".
Al margen de los temas deportivos, Nadal habló también repasó otros temas de actualidad como la situación económica, la crisis y, madridista reconocido, habló sobre los últimos fichajes del conjunto blanco.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Google translation to a above Spanish:
Nadal: "My knees are the real problem"
ELENA VILLAÉCIJA 28.07.2009Tras two months to stop, think and Rafa Nadal in his return to the slopes. The tennis player has granted an exclusive interview with Spanish television, which sought to dispel rumors that point to family problems (separation of parents) as the cause of his physical decline. "I'm human and it is difficult to digest, but not what I was concerned, the real problem was the knee," he said.
Nadal said it has "almost totally" and wanted to clarify that "this happened several months ago and I won at Indian Wells, Barcelona and Rome. Frankly, my knees are the real problem."
After being two months away from the competition, the uncertainty facing manacorense his return. "The respect I have for my rival has made many more questions before you start a tournament. I'm now a sea of doubts."
Although his goal is to compete in the tournament in Montreal, which starts next August 8, Nadal wants to "be sure to be well back into a track." They do not dare to set a date for his return. "I do not know me nor, I would be in Montreal in a week and a half. I'm going to try to force sooner." "I am mentally prepared, well when I am going back to give everything," he said.
What I said is that the decision to return is free and that has never been pressure to return, or the sponsors or the ATP.
No one is concerned about the number
Their main concern is to recover the number one, now in possession of Federer, but "be well, be happy playing tennis and improve, and for that I must be okay for your knees."
The tennis player Rafa Nadal, who has been stopped two months and returned to training just a few weeks ago is said that, although "we have to see how it evolved when the force of truth knees to be in the following days, and hopefully that the trend is good. "
Enjoy suffering
Nadal said how his physical problems started. "He had several months with pain. When I came back from Miami I started to hurt his right knee, was a different pain. I took off the bandages and the entire world thought he was perfect, but the problem is no longer hurt me down, hurt me the top of the kneecap. "
Nadal confesses that since then "everything started to get worse, they put the pain patch" until she said enough. "I decided it was best to stop and recover" because there comes a time when "you lose the illusion, you are not with the same energy, we will destroy."
Accepts that the tennis came to play for a long time with pain. "I've been playing almost every day with anti-infiltration and one day at Roland Garros," why it was "too breaking the two most important tournaments: Roland Garros and Wimbledon."
Nadal acknowledges he has learned to live with suffering. "Suffered too much at one time, I like experience, personally. I have learned to enjoy suffering. I think it is a virtue I have. When you train every day worse, when each game becomes a story that you do not know how to , a head full of doubts. "
"I did not know when to stop"
The Mallorcan has been stopped two months, acknowledging that two months have been very difficult. "At first, without much hope of doing, was mentally touched, felt that he had not done things as they should."
And Nadal acknowledged that he had stopped earlier and should not compete in the Madrid Masters. "It was a mistake of mine. The head of myself is me. The problem is mine for not knowing when to stop evaluating when to rest," "I wanted to play in Madrid last bull and I think it was a mistake."
In these two months of break, the manacorense has been focused on their recovery, working more than five hours a day with machines, although it has also had time to rest. "I have more hours on the couch in these two months than in the past four years," he joked.
He also discussed his rival and current number one Roger Federer, who confessed that he has not called in two months of break. "I do not think their goal is the number one" but "to win back a Grand Slam."
Regardless of the sport, Nadal spoke also reviewed other issues such as the economic situation, the crisis and recognized Madrid, spoke on recent signings of all white.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is Rafa fan, Bee's summary of the interview from this forum: Original Forum from Rafa's website - Babalot supported now For those of you who have not been able to see that TVE report this evening, I am posting some screen caps I made of it.
Rafa looked very well, very relaxed and we saw the smile that we have been missing for a while - the smile that came from the eyes, if you know what I mean.
He is still not committing himself 100% to playing in Montreal but hopes that he he will know in about 3 days.
He spoke about the problem with his knees, saying that the pain started in Miami and that he was playing with pain during all the other tournaments that followed. He mentioned about the fact that he was playing without the knee tapes, and explained that the problem was above the kneecap, not below and the tapes were not any help for this injury above the knee.
His family issues were discussed very briefly and very tactfully, with Rafa reminding us that he does not talk about his private life, but assuring that the problems that he was suffering during the last few months that affected him on court were his knees.
Although feeling very much better, he did say that he still doesn't feel perfect, hence the hesitance to make the decision at this moment about returning to the circuit in Montreal.
With regard to the No 1 ranking, hs said that losing the ranking to Roger was not his main priority. His main concern is to be well, to be fully fit in order to train hard and "although people don't always believe me" in order to improve, which he can only do when he is 100%.
Rafael Nadal fans are undoubtedly nervous about the return of the muscle-bound Majorcan at next week's Masters event in Montreal. My advice? Don't expect too much.
There's still a chance Nadal won't play next week, according to his Web site. In an interview with Spanish television, translated and posted on rafaelnadal.com, Nadal says: "I would like to come back in Montreal in a week and a half. I have to force the knees and just see how far I can go." Nadal has downplayed expectations for his return since he decided to skip Wimbledon, and he continues to do so in this interview, saying that although he feels good, "the real test would be to see how I go when I really push my knees, and I think that is likely to happen in the upcoming days."
The good news about Nadal's injury is that it doesn't require surgery; tendinitis is common and treatable. The bad news is, it's likely to be a chronic problem -- and perhaps a bigger problem for Nadal than it would be for most other players. This isn't because of the way Nadal plays; it's because of who Nadal is. No one on tour trains with as much intensity, and no one needs -- or to be more accurate, believes he needs -- more hours on the court to be his best. When Nadal can't play and train with abandon, he suffers not just physically, but mentally. Here he is again, speaking about the effects of his injury: "You lose the drive to go back to train and compete, because you are not with the same energy. Little by little, it destroys you."
For years, people have said that Nadal couldn't last because he plays such a grueling game and punishes his body more than other players. I have my doubts about that, simply because those opinions are based on appearances. Yes, Nadal's style of play looks more demanding than Roger Federer's, but just because Federer seems to glide doesn't mean his knees and ankles aren't taking a pounding. We've also seen plenty of graceful players -- Miloslav Mecir comes to mind -- suffer career-shortening injuries. The 10-month season is brutal on the joints and tendons of every player, even the pretty ones.
My concern is, can Nadal still be Nadal while playing less tennis? The encouraging news from his interview is that Nadal admits he made some scheduling mistakes this year. He said he shouldn't have played in Madrid after feeling a lot of pain in Rome. If he hadn't, he might have been healthy for Roland Garros. To my mind, he shouldn't have played in Rotterdam after the Australian Open, or in Barcelona, either. Going forward, we can expect to see Nadal less often, and that's a good thing if it allows us to see a healthy Nadal more often.
What we'll begin to learn the rest of this season, though, is whether we'll see a fabulous Nadal as often, or ever again. I hope so, because for my money, no one -- not even Roger Federer -- has played better tennis than Nadal did from April to August of last year, when he won the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic gold medal. The man was otherworldly. Can Nadal be that same player with a slimmer schedule, more carefully designed practices and more breaks? Up to this point, Nadal has needed to play -- and do it a lot -- to be his best. Playing hard, and suffering, have become his identity: "It is a virtue that I've always had: I like to suffer, I have learned to enjoy suffering, and I believe that is what helps me."
He's now in the process of changing that identity. The trick is doing it without killing -- slowly, as he suggested -- the great player inside.
www.vamosbrigade.com Fan run website at this website's forum there is a thread just for the July 28, 2009 TVE interview with an excellent English translation by Babi Register there and you can read it. It states that it is exclusively translated for their website. Go to the section Rafa News and Pics and look for the specific TVE interview thread. Then find: Page 13 - First third of interview Page 19 - Second third of interview Page 22- Whole interview translation - with final third in blue
I love my life. I love where I live. And I am passionate about my passions. I love to dance. Necessary to live: music, piano, singing, writing, acting, painting.
I have been fighting for and supporting the arts all my adult life. Since 2004, I have been working with other activists to end the Darfur genocide.
I have traveled to Europe many times since my early twenties. Places I have been: many USA states including Hawaii, Montreal, Canada, Barbados, France, Spain, Luxembourg, England, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Greece and Germany - and have wonderful memories.
My last trip was in May - June 2013 to Spain.
I would like to travel to Europe and Kyoto, Japan.
I love the southwest where I have visited Hopi, Navajo, Zia and San Idlefonso potters.
Life is exciting and I intend to live it full-out to the end.
B.S. and M.M., both in music
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Khartoum, Sudan Stop Genocide Time
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Melbourne Time
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RAFA NADAL -BRING BACK LONG PANTS - SLEEVELESS TOPS
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Darfur - The Abandoned Genocide - a video by Sandra Hammel
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Genocide is not only a word,
it is crying of the whole human race.
There is nothing redeeming about being silent
when speaking up is the humane thing to do.
The honor and integrity of the human race is at stake.
Rafa Nadal
