Rafael Nadal Training for Montreal, Is the Foot Still a Problem? [Video]

Tom,

a fan on another site translated toni’s and rafa’s comments as follow:

apparently, toni said that the injury rafa suffered at wimby turned out to be nothing. however, since then a small tendon problem was discovered, but everything is fine now and that they are working on a tight schedule because rafa is leaving for montreal thursday. he further said that they will see if the last 10 days left will prepare rafa well.

rafa said that after wimby his foot bothered him a little bit, so he rested it and started training not too long ago, but he trust that when he leaves for montreal he will be at a higher level of physical performance.

in other words, everything is ok.

anyway, this is the translation that i came across.

July 30th, 2011 at 2:56 pm

All those kids are so cute. Going by mem’s passed on translation, it sounds like Rafa’s foot is fine. I wish Rafa would grow his hair a bit longer again, loved his earlier sleeveless, longer hair look. Uncle Toni’s voice recalls, at least slightly, Marlon Brando’s voice as the Godfather; it has that raspiness to it. :)

July 30th, 2011 at 3:23 pm

A Mallorquin journalist who closely follows RAfa and Uncle Toni posted this quote on twitter from the IB3 broadcast and then he posted an english translation for the quote:

“Rafel Nadal, con problemas. El tendón de su tobillo izquierdo no acababa de curarse y le ha obligado a parar. Nuevas molestias, pero que Nadal ya ha superado, le han impedido entrenar en condiciones y su estado de forma no es el ideal de cara a la gira americana. Debuta en 10 días en el Masters 1000 de Montreal. Después jugará en Cincinnatti para llegar a tope al US Open.”

“Rafel Nadal problems. The tendon in his left ankle did not fully heal and forced him to stop.

New inconvenience, but Nadal has already passed, prevented him from training on conditions and your fitness is not ideal in the face of American tour. Debuted in 10 days in the 1000 Montreal Masters. After playing in Cincinnati to reach top U.S. Open.”

So it seems that after Rafa started training his foot was still bothering him so he had to stop for a bit. I’m assuming he only missed a few days days since he’s been training the whole of the past week and he only started training last week Tuesday.

July 30th, 2011 at 3:41 pm

Well folks. Don’t get all stirred up.

Everything is fine when I am winning. When I start losing, these excuses help. Remember, a fit Rafa never loses.

July 30th, 2011 at 5:20 pm

Nadal won’t win another title this year. Clay season is over this year. Will have to wait until clay season 2012 to win titles again. He has regressed to being a claycourt specialist. Fact.

July 30th, 2011 at 10:25 pm

jamie,

we know, nadal is steadily regressing, just like he regressed in 2010 by adding 3 consecutive slams to his record. he continued to regressed this year by adding another slam to his count and setting a historic record by winning monte carlo for a 7 consecutive time. this regression is getting to be a pattern and that is concerning.

but thanks for raising our awareness! your predictions are always correct. that’s why we nadal fans are all so worried. nadal is probably worried too.

we’ll stay tuned for your next update. you do such a great job foretelling the future and keeping us informed. appreciate it!

July 30th, 2011 at 10:44 pm

Has he gained a bit of weight? Novak is on well known gluten free diet and has tons of power, but Rafa seams to be behind him in terms of fitness

July 31st, 2011 at 3:59 am

Jamie dont talk rubbish ! That’s ridiculous ! Now on to the real worry IS Rafa’s foot ok ?? I mean 100% no problems ?? Help !

July 31st, 2011 at 7:22 am

mem:

Nadal has not won a title off-clay this year. Fact.

_____________

Neosmarmaras:

Yes. Nadal appears to have gained weight. Not muscle but flab/fat. Maybe he eats too much junk food? Djokovic looks leaner, faster and more agile thanks to the gluten free diet. No pizza or junk food for him this year.

__________

July 31st, 2011 at 1:14 pm

Jamie,

i didn’t realize the year was over. i have a tendency to take a match at a time. maybe i lost track of time. i don’t make predictions because i can’t guarantee wins and losses like you.

my bad, i thought the season didn’t end until november. here i’m thinking that nadal still have a chance to make some waves before the end of the season and then you pop up and bring me back down to reality. i guess nadal fans will have to wait until next year to see if novak will have little mercy on my boy and let him win at least one non-clay title.

well, i don’t have a habit of counting my chicks before they hatch so i’ll have to wait and see what happens in the next few months.

since we’re on this subject, how many non-clay titles and finals do murray and federer (arguably the greatest player ever) have this year? just curious, i’m sure you know.

i wonder if they would much rather have nadal’s type season.

you mentioned novak’s gluten-free diet. very interesting! perhaps nadal needs to consider going gluten-free. personally, i didn’t know dropping bread, pizza, pasta, etc. from a diet could work wonders like that especially when the diet eliminates carbs and other nutrients that are essential to maintaining the level of energy necessary to playing such a demanding sport. i certainly have learned something new about dieting.

imagine the increase in stamina, speed, and overall fitness nadal would develop in a short period of time. wouldn’t that be something to have two gluten-free players challenging each other at #1 and #2. what do you think? you think it would work for nadal as well?

July 31st, 2011 at 3:31 pm

mem:

Maybe Nadal should go on a gluten-free diet? Might help him beat Djoko again? LOL.

July 31st, 2011 at 4:57 pm

jamie,

that’s my point! maybe nadal should take a page from novak’s book and go gluten-free. from what i hear, the diet is a miracle worker. seems the only way to beat novak these days is to be gluten-free. it works for novak!

July 31st, 2011 at 5:15 pm

uh, last time i checked nadal played two hard court masters finals and one grass court final (his fifth) this year too, more than anyone else in important tournaments who may be considered a hard court specialists. he’s playing great on all surfaces. He’s playing better than anyone other than Djokovic on every surface and probably better than he’s ever played. Seriously, in Miami he played great. Your fav is just playing much better than him right now. However, this is the point in the year where he often runs out of gas. We will see.

Nadal has a waaaaaaay hotter body than Djokovic, you are delusional on the flab. Much better in every way, legs, arms, abs, shoulders, butt. No comparison. No one really thinks Djokovic is sexy at all except for himself and Jelena. I don’t see him modeling for Armani Underwear anytime in the near future.

July 31st, 2011 at 5:44 pm

I agree. Nadal is NOT the least bit unfit, and he has an awesome physique. However, Kimberly, I do think Nole has a nice tennis physique as well. http://www.tmz.com/2011/03/07/novak-djokovic-shirtless-malibu-tennis-serbian/

mem, you can get gluten-free breads, pasta, etc, and they have complex carbs too. Fruits, vegatables, even yogurt have carbs too. And you can even get gluten-free pizza at “Boston Pizza” these days, so it’s becoming more and more common even in restaurants to find foods for special diets. Personally, I see no reason to switch to such a diet, though, unless someone needs to for health reasons, like Nole did. Rafa seems very healthy and fit. He is doing fine! :)

July 31st, 2011 at 5:53 pm

my younger son had a lot of gastro problems and we did an allergy panel and he was intolerent to gluten and peanuts. They have pizza made with rice flour and even soy cheese for people intolerant to dairy. They have gluten free donuts, cookies etc. However, they don’t taste so hot. But plenty of opportunity for carbs. The healthiest simple carb, whole grain brown rice, is allowed.

To each their own. I don’t eat any meat or fish or eggs(but do eat cheese and milk products mostly in the form of whey protein). Most people think this is the worst thing one can do for athletic performance but it works for me. I feel better, stronger, fitter more endurance.

Now Lisicki is claiming she’s gluten intolerant but her gluten free diet didn’t seem to help her last night!!!!!! I don’t know why Lisicki’s claim annoys me and Nole’s doesn’t bother me in the least. Maybe it feels like Lisicki is a wannabe Nole?

July 31st, 2011 at 6:33 pm

Jane,

just joking around with jamie. i know nadal doesn’t need a diet. he’s fine the way he is. i’m just being sarcastic since not only jamie, but most people have sited novak’s diet as the driving force behind his sudden emergence of much improved stamina, power, energy, etc. i guess this gluten-diet topic is still mindboggling to me. i’m sure you know more about it than me.

anyway, i have to admit i’m ignorant as to how it all works exactly. all i know is that sportswriters, experts, fans, others claim that the diet is largely responsible for novak’s recent success. i can’t see it, but i can’t argue with it either because i don’t know enough about it. this is just my opinion.

July 31st, 2011 at 7:48 pm

mem, I knew you were being sarcastic. Interestingly, contrary to what the media has said, Nole has said it was a combination of things that finally all came together for him. He got his service motion straightened out, which was huge; the new trainer he hired in mid-2009 finally paid off; his coach said they increased the cardio training, with more on the bike etc so he could run faster; he got a big confidence boost making the USO final and then winning DC. So the gluten thing was only one aspect of it. It helped with his breathing as allergies can cause bronchial issues and it seems as those have improved with the new diet. Maybe he lost a bit of weight too, but I don’t think too much. Anyhow some tennis fans, even Nole fans, can see that Rafa is not too far off. He has made loads of finals, and if he had forced a fifth set at Wimbledon, who knows what would have happened. Nole is playing with a lot more confidence, which has helped him in the big matches. That is probably the key difference from last year, plus the improved serve and movement.

July 31st, 2011 at 8:05 pm

jane, waaaay to skinny for my taste. But I’m sure he appeals to many. Like mem, I was kind of messing with Jamie in my post.

July 31st, 2011 at 9:45 pm

Novak too skinny and gross.

August 1st, 2011 at 12:25 pm