Reigning French and US Open champion Rafael Nadal has admitted that his right knee is still not 100 per cent.
Nadal who played with a strapping on his knee during the Asian swing and subsequently at the Paris Masters and the ATP’s year-end championships has been troubled with the issue for many years now. Such was the extent of the pain in his right knee that the Spanish Bulldog had to pull out of the ATP Finals after losing his first match at the hands of the Belgian David Goffin in London.
“I didn’t end the season in the best possible way. But I would have signed to have such a year.” Nadal recently told reporters in Spain, according to Tennis World USA.
“My knee doesn’t have to be ready now, but the goal is [to be ready] within a month. I will try to do the right things in order to be ready. It takes time to recover well, that’s why I took some weeks off. I have to start again. I will try to play in Abu Dhabi, Brisbane and Australia. It would be the ideal situation and I will try to make it happen.”
The 31-year-old, who captured six titles in 2017 including a 10th Roland Garros crown, also spoke about people’s criticism of his taxing schedule.
“This year I played 18 tournaments. Apart from the mandatory tournaments, I only played three: Barcelona, Brisbane and Beijing (also Acapulco). I played practically only what the usual calendar requires. I played many matches and luckily it went well.”
