French Open Champion Rafael Nadal Arrives In Halle, Will Test The Knee On Grass [Video]
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After missing the 2013 Halle tournament, French Open champion Rafael Nadal doesn’t want to skip the tournament again. Just a day after his incredible win on Paris, Nadal landed yesterday in Halle where he’ll begin his grass season and hope his knee will hold up.
“I want to try to play well again in Wimbledon,” Nadal said Sunday. “I’m healthy. That’s the most important thing, I feel. I hope my knee will have the positive feeling on grass, because I feel my knee better than last year in the rest of the surfaces. Grass always was a little bit harder for me after the injury. I get injury here in 2012. I played 2012 Wimbledon with that injury. I never played a match after that Wimbledon.
“Last year I tried, but I was not enough ready to compete in Wimbledon. Let’s see how is my feelings there this year, but it’s very important tournament.”
The 28-year-old Spaniard was welcomed at Halle by tournament direct Ralf Weber with a bouquet of flowers at the GERRY WEBER Sportpark Hotel just before 7pm on Monday.
Nadal’s first match on the grass will be against wildcard Dustin Brown in the second round.
“You see him at tournaments but I never played him,” Brown said. “I guess everybody has seen him on TV. It’s going to be nice to play him. And I much prefer it to be on grass than on clay.
“The good thing is, I don’t feel any pressure and can just focus on playing my game.”
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