There are doubts lingering over Rafael Nadal’s participation in Spain’s Davis Cup clash against the United States next monthYou can watch and bet on the action from the ATP and WTA tours throughout the year live for free at bet365 > live tennisRafael Nadal’s lingering knee problem has already forced him out of the Olympics and the US Open this year, but it looks like things could get worse for the world No. 3, as he’s unsure about whether or not he’ll be fit in time for Spain’s Davis Cup semi-final against the United States next month.
“The important thing is to recover well and come back when my knee is a hundred percent perfect, said Nadal in an interview in Mallorca. “We'll see if I will be ready for Gijon, for the Davis Cup. My goal, my dream is to be there if the captain has confidence in me, but it always depends on the captain and the knee.”
Knee problems caused Nadal to withdraw from the Australian Open in 2010 and the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami this season. This time around Nadal’s injury is slightly different.
“The injury is not the same,” said Nadal. “It is an injury that start around February before Indian Wells. I played these months with some problems, like in Miami, but normally I had the control of the pain, of the injury.”
“But after Roland Garros the injury got worse and it was impossible to continue competing, and of course the important thing today is to recover as fast as possible after not arriving in perfect conditions in Wimbledon. I am practising hard on the recovery with the physio in the gym, to not lose my fitness, I am a few days outside of the tennis court to try and recover faster.”
Nadal is clearly eager to be fit, but hesitant to rush back and aggravate any existing problems. It would be a huge blow to Spain’s chances if he were to miss out on the tie, but possibly an even bigger loss if he were to return to action too soon.
