Rafael Nadal: Wimbledon Is The Most Dangerous Tournament Of The Year For Me
Rafael Nadal took a cautious tone on the eve of Wimbledon. Speaking to the press on Saturday the 2-time Wimbledon champion is well aware of the dangers grass pose to his game.
“[Wimbledon] is really the most dangerous tournament of the year,” Nadal said. “[It] is a tournament you arrive to the first round, sometimes the match cannot be in your hands, because in the end is a surface that you don’t have the time to control the match.”
Nadal enters the event on a 3-match losing streak on grass, with a recent loss to Dustin Brown in Halle last week and a shock defeat to Steve Darcis in the first round at Wimbledon last year.
“Personally I feel that I am doing things better. It is true that for the last couple of years I didn’t play lot of matches on grass, but I am confident that I can do it again. I am not talking about winning, (rather) talking about play better than what I did the last couple of years on grass.”
“In the end, everybody remembers the winner,” Nadal said. “Everybody remembers the victories, and nobody remembers the losses. Obviously winning Roland Garros is a lot of confidence for me and give me the possibility to play here with less pressure. [It] is true that I didn’t play as much as I would like to play on grass for the last couple of years. I am not going to start from zero because I already played a lot in this surface in my career, but [it] is like a restart.”
Nadal opens play Tuesday against fellow lefty Martin Klizan. The Spaniard could then face a rematch against Lukas Rosol in the second round with Ivo Karlovic potentially in the third.
“I don’t see farther than today,” Nadal said about the draw. “I have a tough first round against Klizan. For the last two years I lost in the first and second round… I start from the first round in every surface. You can imagine even more here on grass.
“I am here in Wimbledon and I really want to try to play well here. That’s my real goal today.”
You Might Like:
Rafael Nadal Isn’t Happy With The Balls Situation On The Tour
Rafael Nadal Assesses “Dangerous” First Round Foe Alexei Popyrin At French Open
Novak Djokovic Thought About Skipping The Canadian Open Masters In Toronto
Fritz Beats Querrey For First Title In Eastbourne
Milos Raonic: “My Job Is To Go Out There And Make My Opponents Adjust To Me”