Rafael Nadal is back at Wimbledon and loving every 分钟 of his return to the place where he won what he calls "the most important tournament in the world" in 2008.
Nadal was unable to defend his Wimbledon 标题 last summer because of knee problems, but any concerns about ongoing ability to play 网球 at the highest level have been dismissed 由 his storming run through the clay court season - a run which brought him the titles in Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome and then his fifth Roland Garros 标题 in six years.
And how has that demanding spell left him as he prepares for Wimbledon? At the Queen's Club tournament immediately after Paris he 迷失 early as he renewed acquaintance with grass. "I was the first week for me on 草 after a lot of matches on clay," he said. "I tried my best but I had a little bit of a problem with my leg, so I was scared to run at 100 per cent. But now I am fine, I am perfect."
"This tournament [Wimbledon] is very special," he added. "This is true for everybody because it is the nicest tournament in the world. For me it was always a special ambition to play well here. I did that for three years and finally won. So to be here brings back very nice memories. It is always a pleasure to be at this very beautiful club. It is a very personal satisfaction to be here after a 2009 season which wasn't easy."
Asked what was most important as he prepared a new assault on Wimbledon, Nadal insisted, "Everything is important. If 你 are fresh like ice but playing bad, you're going to lose. If 你 are playing very well but are too tired, which is what happened to me at the US Open in 2008, 你 gonna have the chances to win a few rounds but finally 你 gonna lose. The clay season was a hard one for me this year, but I am not very tired and I hope to be ready to play well on Tuesday in my first match."
Following his early defeat at Queen's Nadal seized the chance to fly 首页 to Mallorca for a short break. "I went to a party with friends, I played golf, I go to the beach." It was perfect, he claimed, except for indifferent weather on the last two days.
Now comes the opportunity to repeat what he says was "one of the most emotional moments in my career" when he defeated Roger Federer in the 2008 final. "I worked hard all my life to improve my 网球 on surfaces other than clay. Winning the most important tournament in the world on the most difficult surface was very important for me."
As for improving on his already impressive total of seven Grand Slam titles, Nadal said, "I go 日 to day. I am not thinking about 16 Grand Slams and these crazy things, just about the first match here . I have seven [Slams] and that's 更多 than I dreamed of five years ago. So I am already very happy about my career. But four months 以前 people were saying they didn't know if I would have another time at the top.
"Four months later, everything has changed. In your career 你 have a lot of good moments and bad ones. The important thing is to have enough motivation to keep working all the days with humility and trying to be a better player than before. I am going to try to continue doing this."
Nadal was unable to defend his Wimbledon 标题 last summer because of knee problems, but any concerns about ongoing ability to play 网球 at the highest level have been dismissed 由 his storming run through the clay court season - a run which brought him the titles in Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome and then his fifth Roland Garros 标题 in six years.
And how has that demanding spell left him as he prepares for Wimbledon? At the Queen's Club tournament immediately after Paris he 迷失 early as he renewed acquaintance with grass. "I was the first week for me on 草 after a lot of matches on clay," he said. "I tried my best but I had a little bit of a problem with my leg, so I was scared to run at 100 per cent. But now I am fine, I am perfect."
"This tournament [Wimbledon] is very special," he added. "This is true for everybody because it is the nicest tournament in the world. For me it was always a special ambition to play well here. I did that for three years and finally won. So to be here brings back very nice memories. It is always a pleasure to be at this very beautiful club. It is a very personal satisfaction to be here after a 2009 season which wasn't easy."
Asked what was most important as he prepared a new assault on Wimbledon, Nadal insisted, "Everything is important. If 你 are fresh like ice but playing bad, you're going to lose. If 你 are playing very well but are too tired, which is what happened to me at the US Open in 2008, 你 gonna have the chances to win a few rounds but finally 你 gonna lose. The clay season was a hard one for me this year, but I am not very tired and I hope to be ready to play well on Tuesday in my first match."
Following his early defeat at Queen's Nadal seized the chance to fly 首页 to Mallorca for a short break. "I went to a party with friends, I played golf, I go to the beach." It was perfect, he claimed, except for indifferent weather on the last two days.
Now comes the opportunity to repeat what he says was "one of the most emotional moments in my career" when he defeated Roger Federer in the 2008 final. "I worked hard all my life to improve my 网球 on surfaces other than clay. Winning the most important tournament in the world on the most difficult surface was very important for me."
As for improving on his already impressive total of seven Grand Slam titles, Nadal said, "I go 日 to day. I am not thinking about 16 Grand Slams and these crazy things, just about the first match here . I have seven [Slams] and that's 更多 than I dreamed of five years ago. So I am already very happy about my career. But four months 以前 people were saying they didn't know if I would have another time at the top.
"Four months later, everything has changed. In your career 你 have a lot of good moments and bad ones. The important thing is to have enough motivation to keep working all the days with humility and trying to be a better player than before. I am going to try to continue doing this."
