Nadal: I can't Go On Like This

[DoubleDeuce]

From NY Blog:


Rafael Nadal of Spain will travel to London next week while rehabbing his injured knees in hopes of playing Wimbledon, he announced on his Web site on Tuesday.

After Nadal lost in the fourth round of his signature tournament, the French Open, the state of his knees has been the talk of tennis. He said a series of tests the past three days attempted to pinpoint the problem, which his doctor said was tendinitis in both knees.

“I have been playing with pain on my knees for some months now and I simply can’t go on like this,” Nadal said in his announcement. “The pain was limiting certain movements in my body, which affected me mentally as well.”

Nadal’s loss to Robin Soderling ended a 31-match French Open winning streak and a run of four straight French titles. It also opened the door for Roger Federer to win his first title there and moved the drama to Wimbledon, where Nadal beat Federer for the title last year.

“I am going to give my 200 percent to be ready for the most important tournament in the world,” Nadal said. “The tournament that I always dream about. I will not go out and play, especially on the Wimbledon Center Court, if I am not 100 percent ready to play.”

The diagnosis was disclosed by the Spanish federation doctor Ángel Ruiz Cotorro, who said Nadal had an ultrasound scan and a magnetic resonance imaging test on both knees. He said Nadal would have physical therapy and slowly return to training.

The announcement will most likely calm some of the debate over how injured Nadal was in the French Open, which even Federer questioned. Federer, however, said he would be disappointed if Nadal missed Wimbledon.

http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.c...y-wimbledon-after-rehabbing-knees/?ref=sports

 

[thalivest]

Poor Rafa. I hope he gets the best advice and makes the best choices best for him, not for his team or anyone but him.

 

[amx13]

Damn, I really hope he gets well soon.

 

[jamesblakefan#1]

Another Nadal knee thread? Couldn't just put this in one of the other 500 already floating around?

 

[Blinkism]

Hopefully he can squeeze in as much rehab and training as possible before Wimbledon.

Skipping Queen's was a great choice and he should skip practice until he gets to London.

Getting a good physical and mental rest will ensure that Rafa can give his best once he steps out on to the court at Wimbledon. And hopefully his draw is not too difficult in the early rounds.

 

[Jchurch]

I know Nadal is a warrior, but if this has any chance to hinder his movement later in life post tennis, I hope he won't play. Yes another Wimbledon trophy and another classic clash with Federer would be nice, but it wouldn't be with the damage.

 

[dh003i]

From NY Blog:


Rafael Nadal of Spain will travel to London next week while rehabbing his injured knees in hopes of playing Wimbledon, he announced on his Web site on Tuesday.

After Nadal lost in the fourth round of his signature tournament, the French Open, the state of his knees has been the talk of tennis. He said a series of tests the past three days attempted to pinpoint the problem, which his doctor said was tendinitis in both knees.

“I have been playing with pain on my knees for some months now and I simply can’t go on like this,” Nadal said in his announcement. “The pain was limiting certain movements in my body, which affected me mentally as well.”

Nadal’s loss to Robin Soderling ended a 31-match French Open winning streak and a run of four straight French titles. It also opened the door for Roger Federer to win his first title there and moved the drama to Wimbledon, where Nadal beat Federer for the title last year.

“I am going to give my 200 percent to be ready for the most important tournament in the world,” Nadal said. “The tournament that I always dream about. I will not go out and play, especially on the Wimbledon Center Court, if I am not 100 percent ready to play.”

The diagnosis was disclosed by the Spanish federation doctor Ángel Ruiz Cotorro, who said Nadal had an ultrasound scan and a magnetic resonance imaging test on both knees. He said Nadal would have physical therapy and slowly return to training.

The announcement will most likely calm some of the debate over how injured Nadal was in the French Open, which even Federer questioned. Federer, however, said he would be disappointed if Nadal missed Wimbledon.

This is really too bad. Hopefully, he recovers in time for Wimbledon, but talk of physical therapy and slowly returning to training doesn't sound too good.

 

[BreakPoint]

“I am going to give my 200 percent to be ready for the most important tournament in the world,” Nadal said. “The tournament that I always dream about. I will not go out and play, especially on the Wimbledon Center Court, if I am not 100 percent ready to play.”

I hope Nadal recovers soon but it sounds to me like he's saying that he was 100% when he played Soderling at the French Open and Federer at Madrid.

 

[Serendipitous]

:neutral:

:-?






I had no idea it was that serious.

 

[ghostbear]

No, I think he's just throwing numbers around. 'give my 200% ready to play,' '100% ready.' And it doesn't necessarily mean 100% health-wise.

 

[Claudius]

I hope he'll recover ASAP and play at his best at Wimbledon. When you play the way he does, injuries like this are inevitable. He needs to do one of two things. He needs to either shorten his schedule, or be more aggressive and finish off points earlier. I'm guessing the former is more feasible.

 

[quest01]

It would be a pity for the defending champion and world #1 to miss Wimbledon. I want another epic Federer vs Nadal final.

 

[DoubleDeuce]

I think the biggest take you get from this is where he says: " It affects me mentally". Now the question is how much recovery can he come up with in just couple of weeks.

 

[edmondsm]

I for one am not surprised in the least. The writing has been on the wall for a long time.

 

[viktorkwan]

It has been widely written and discussed that he has been having problems with his knees for a while now...

But what surprises me was that his knees were not taped during the French Open!!!

 

[imalil2gangsta4u]

Not surprised all at. Hopefully he can recover for wimbledon.

 

[mrmo1115]

I am positive that Federer will be indeed very happy if Nadal doesn't show up.

 

[Beasty54]

I like Nadal all but this was pretty expected. What will happen to the rankings if he doesent play Wimby?

 

[Jchurch]

I am positive that Federer will be indeed very happy if Nadal doesn't show up.

I think he wants Nadal there so he can beat him. Make his H2H look better.

 

[bluetrain4]

He needs rest. It's hard to train your way out of tendinitis. He really needs months off. But, of course, now would be a horrible time (career-wise) to take time off.

 

[CyBorg]

12 French opens.

 

[DoubleDeuce]

I like Nadal all but this was pretty expected. What will happen to the rankings if he doesent play Wimby?

He goes number 2, Given Roger does well.

 

[Feña14]

Is it possible to ever get them back to how they once were?

I know people who've had knee injuries/weak knees and they often have pain in them, these are people who don't have to practice or playing high level tennis every day.

So i'm guessing it's likely the problem will always be there, it's just how well he can manage it I suppose.

 

[mcutilize]

cmon nadal

 

[80'stennis]

Nadal had an unbelievable year last year. Something like what Federer did 3 years out of the past five. There's the difference. Federer's game is so smooth he can do it year in-year out. Nadal has almost sacrificed his career just to do it one year. Meanwhile Fed is still trucking and will continue to pick up hardware. He's doing his part; it's not his fault that Nadal can't keep up physically. The old man is going to lap the kid! Don't get me wrong I appreciate Nadal's style and grit, but there's no way he'll achieve even near the number of slams as Fed simply because he and Uncle Toni don't think long term.

Does anyone know what's involved in a "protected ranking" vis-a-vis Nadal's injury? Is there such a thing?

 

[tennisplaya]

I hope Nadal recovers soon but it sounds to me like he's saying that he was 100% when he played Soderling at the French Open and Federer at Madrid.

In your dreams.

 

[JeMar]

From NY Blog:


Rafael Nadal of Spain will travel to London next week while rehabbing his injured knees in hopes of playing Wimbledon, he announced on his Web site on Tuesday.

After Nadal lost in the fourth round of his signature tournament, the French Open, the state of his knees has been the talk of tennis. He said a series of tests the past three days attempted to pinpoint the problem, which his doctor said was tendinitis in both knees.

“I have been playing with pain on my knees for some months now and I simply can’t go on like this,” Nadal said in his announcement. “The pain was limiting certain movements in my body, which affected me mentally as well.”

Nadal’s loss to Robin Soderling ended a 31-match French Open winning streak and a run of four straight French titles. It also opened the door for Roger Federer to win his first title there and moved the drama to Wimbledon, where Nadal beat Federer for the title last year.

“I am going to give my 200 percent to be ready for the most important tournament in the world,” Nadal said. “The tournament that I always dream about. I will not go out and play, especially on the Wimbledon Center Court, if I am not 100 percent ready to play.”

The diagnosis was disclosed by the Spanish federation doctor Ángel Ruiz Cotorro, who said Nadal had an ultrasound scan and a magnetic resonance imaging test on both knees. He said Nadal would have physical therapy and slowly return to training.

The announcement will most likely calm some of the debate over how injured Nadal was in the French Open, which even Federer questioned. Federer, however, said he would be disappointed if Nadal missed Wimbledon.

http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.c...y-wimbledon-after-rehabbing-knees/?ref=sports

Everyone better remember this in case he loses.

 

[BreakPoint]

Does anyone know what's involved in a "protected ranking" vis-a-vis Nadal's injury? Is there such a thing?

Well, Sharapova certainly didn't get a protected ranking during her time off rehabilitating her shoulder injury so she fell from #1 to outside of the Top 100. :shock:

 

[Vermillion]

oh snaps, how long is he gonna be out for

 

[JeMar]

All that protected ranking does is get you into tournaments. It doesn't affect seeding.

 

[tennisplaya]

Federer wasnts Nadal to show up at 50% like in Madrid so he can keep chipping away at that h2h. The bad news is that when Nadal is at 100% he wins slam finals so the 2-5 slam final h2h will get even worse for Federer.

 

[BreakPoint]

In your dreams.

So are you calling Nadal a liar?

He said himself that he doesn't play unless he's 100%.

So if he wasn't 100%, he wouldn't have played the Soderling match at RG nor the Federer match in Madrid.

 

[JeMar]

So are you calling Nadal a liar?

He said himself that he doesn't play unless he's 100%.

So if he wasn't 100%, he wouldn't have played the Soderling match at RG nor the Federer match in Madrid.

You're forgetting that Nadal's fans know Nadal better than Nadal does.

 

[tennisplaya]

So are you calling Nadal a liar?

He said himself that he doesn't play unless he's 100%.

So if he wasn't 100%, he wouldn't have played the Soderling match at RG nor the Federer match in Madrid.

No he didn't. He said he doesn't plan playing Wimbledon unless hes 100%. He doesn't want to play injured like he has been recently.

 

[Lsmkenpo]

Federer wasnts Nadal to show up at 50% like in Madrid so he can keep chipping away at that h2h. The bad news is that when Nadal is at 100% he wins slam finals so the 2-5 slam final h2h will get even worse for Federer.

Yeah Fed was 100% in every slam final huh? Fact is Fed makes slam finals even when he is not 100%, Nadal does not.

 

[Serendipitous]

Every time I see the title of this thread I get depressed.

 

[ghostbear]

"I will not go out and play, especially on the Wimbledon Center Court, if I am not 100 percent ready to play.”

Who knows what he's saying with his English? It doesn't necessarily mean 100% healthy to play. It might just mean 100% good enough to play. With less than two weeks left, you can't expect him to be 100% physically fit.

 

[zagor]

No he didn't. He said he doesn't plan playing Wimbledon unless hes 100%. He doesn't want to play injured like he has been recently.

Wrong TheNatural,here's what he said:

"I will not take to any court, and certainly not the Wimbledon centre court, unless I know I am 100 per cent"

So are you calling Nadal a liar?

 

[tennisplaya]

"I will not go out and play, especially on the Wimbledon Center Court, if I am not 100 percent ready to play.”

Who knows what he's saying with his English? It doesn't necessarily mean 100% healthy to play. It might just mean 100% good enough to play. With less than two weeks left, you can't expect him to be 100% physically fit.

That's right.

And the "will not" only refers to Wimbledon, nothing else. BP has a weird interpretation.

 

[80'stennis]

All that protected ranking does is get you into tournaments. It doesn't affect seeding.

Good to know, thanks

 

[papucla10]

From NY Blog:


Rafael Nadal of Spain will travel to London next week while rehabbing his injured knees in hopes of playing Wimbledon, he announced on his Web site on Tuesday.

After Nadal lost in the fourth round of his signature tournament, the French Open, the state of his knees has been the talk of tennis. He said a series of tests the past three days attempted to pinpoint the problem, which his doctor said was tendinitis in both knees.

“I have been playing with pain on my knees for some months now and I simply can’t go on like this,” Nadal said in his announcement. “The pain was limiting certain movements in my body, which affected me mentally as well.”

Nadal’s loss to Robin Soderling ended a 31-match French Open winning streak and a run of four straight French titles. It also opened the door for Roger Federer to win his first title there and moved the drama to Wimbledon, where Nadal beat Federer for the title last year.

“I am going to give my 200 percent to be ready for the most important tournament in the world,” Nadal said. “The tournament that I always dream about. I will not go out and play, especially on the Wimbledon Center Court, if I am not 100 percent ready to play.”

The diagnosis was disclosed by the Spanish federation doctor Ángel Ruiz Cotorro, who said Nadal had an ultrasound scan and a magnetic resonance imaging test on both knees. He said Nadal would have physical therapy and slowly return to training.

The announcement will most likely calm some of the debate over how injured Nadal was in the French Open, which even Federer questioned. Federer, however, said he would be disappointed if Nadal missed Wimbledon.

http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.c...y-wimbledon-after-rehabbing-knees/?ref=sports

I seriously believe these are excuses, he didn't wear the Knee Tapes during RG which means he was not having pain nor problems, if anything the problem would have started bothering him during the match against Soderling, If he wasn't wearing protection that means there is no problem, when you have an injury you try to make it better and protect it, or am I wrong? but Nadal wasn't doing that during RG, all this seams to be just excuses to make the press think his lost against Soderling wasn't a big deal and also so that the lose to Soderling does not look that bad for his reputation. All this just doesn't make sense to me, prove me wrong because I wish I was wrong.

I found this statement:

"He managed to win titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, but even in the Italian capital the signs were there, in retrospect, that all was not well. He was soundly beaten by Federer in the final of the Madrid Masters"

Why didn't he wear protection I don't understand?

I hope that if all this is true that he gets better and recovers fully promptly so he can keep giving tennis his greatness.

 

[clayman2000]

I seriously believe these are excuses, he didn't wear the Knee Tapes during RG which means he was not having pain nor problems, if anything the problem would have started bothering him during the match against Soderling, If he wasn't wearing protection that means there is no problem, when you have an injury you try to make it better and protect it, or am I wrong? but Nadal wasn't doing that during RG, all this seams to be just excuses to make the press think his lost against Soderling wasn't a big deal and also so that the lose to Soderling does not look that bad for his reputation. All this just doesn't make sense to me, prove me wrong because I wish I was wrong.

I found this statement:

"He managed to win titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, but even in the Italian capital the signs were there, in retrospect, that all was not well. He was soundly beaten by Federer in the final of the Madrid Masters"

Why didn't he wear protection I don't understand?

I hope that if all this is true that he gets better and recovers fully promptly so he can keep giving tennis his greatness.

Rafa took his knee tapes off as soon as the clay season started.... i guess since he thought that his knees had been fine for they year it was ok to take them off for clay

 

[BreakPoint]

No he didn't. He said he doesn't plan playing Wimbledon unless hes 100%. He doesn't want to play injured like he has been recently.

Read his quote again. He said "especially Wimbledon", which means he doesn't play when he's not 100% at other tournaments either. Or else he would have said - "I only won't play Wimbledon if I'm not 100%".

He also never mentioned his knees in the post match press conferences after he lost to Soderling and Federer.

 

[Nadal_Freak]

Nadal better wear that tape for now on. Not a smart decision on his part to take them off imo.

 

[clayman2000]

Nadal better wear that tape for now on. Not a smart decision on his part to take them off imo.

While we are at it he should go back to the sleeveless... for Wimby only.... what a message that would send

 

[ChanceEncounter]

That's right.

And the "will not" only refers to Wimbledon, nothing else. BP has a weird interpretation.

No it doesn't. Your interpretation is clearly flawed...

I will not go out and play, especially on the Wimbledon Center Court, if I am not 100 percent ready to play.

If Nadal was referring to Wimbledon in particular, there would be no reason for him to say that he would "especially" not go out and play at Wimbledon Center Court (and since he's defending champion, most/all of his matches will be there). That statement wouldn't make sense. It would only make sense if he meant it in a general sense, with Wimbledon having even more emphasis, hence the "especially."

The bottom line is that Nadal does not enter tournaments unless he feels that he's good to go and capable of winning. He doesn't give excuses, so neither should you.

 

[BreakPoint]

That's right.

And the "will not" only refers to Wimbledon, nothing else. BP has a weird interpretation.

Wrong. If he meant that he would have said so. He would have said "only Wimbledon" and NOT "especially Wimbledon".

Please learn to read the English language.

 

[zagor]

Wrong. If he meant that he would have said so. He would have said "only Wimbledon" and NOT "especially Wimbledon".

Please learn to read the English language.

Yes he said any court,especially Wimbledon.

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/09062009/58/wimbledon-nadal-hopeful-wimbledon.html

"The pain was limiting me physically in certain movements which meant I was also suffering mentally. I will not take to any court, and certainly not the Wimbledon centre court, unless I know I am 100 per cent."

 

[DoubleDeuce]

If he plays at Wimbledon= He is at 100%, gives 200%

If he loses at Wimbledon= No Excuse

This what he said.

Not hard to comprehend.

 

[BreakPoint]

Rafa took his knee tapes off as soon as the clay season started.... i guess since he thought that his knees had been fine for they year it was ok to take them off for clay

Wait, clay court tennis is much more grueling, requires a lot more running and retrieving, and the points last a lot longer. So, if anything, if his knees were hurting, he should have been taping up his knees ESPECIALLY for the clay court season. It makes no sense otherwise.