BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!

Rafael Nadal tells reporters in Acapulco that he is not 100 percent
healthy yet:

“The pain continues, but I can’t specify what the level of pain is,” he
said. “There are days when there is more pain and days when there is
less. It’s clear I am not 100 percent. But after all that time off I’m
happy to return to compete.”


HOW MANY TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMES!!!!?

As I said I actually don't mind him saying it. I actually thought it was quite noticeable in his last matches...but it may have been due to rustiness. However he has clearly something. Problem is for him fitness is everything. He could not win Wimy with a bad back like Fed did last year...He can get beaten by anybody even on form so when any slight problem and he gets crushed.

Imagine if all players went on about their injuries like Nadal...
Haas, Del Potro, Simon, Monfils....and that's those with really serious injuries!

He also said that he'd swap all his trophies for a pair of healthy knees....yet he chooses not to retire but exposes those knees to further damage.

This moaning used to annoy me, but now it's pure comedy value.

I don 't think he is even aware of what impression he is leaving.
A penny for Davydenko's thoughts....

I suppose half of it is journalists....
Federer: When are you going to retire?
Nole: Why did you stop retiring?
Nadal: How are your knees? (why don't you retire?)
Murray: Are you going to win a slam? (ooooops! wrong one )

noleisthebest wrote:Imagine if all players went on about their injuries like Nadal...
Haas, Del Potro, Simon, Monfils....and that's those with really serious injuries!

He also said that he'd swap all his trophies for a pair of healthy knees....yet he chooses not to retire but exposes those knees to further damage.

Yes but it's true that we want to hear more about his than we would of any of those other players. We know how important it can affect the other top players. How many more slams Djoko and Fed woudl have without him?

noleisthebest wrote:I suppose half of it is journalists....

Yes he has millions of fans who want to know.

Tenez wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:Imagine if all players went on about their injuries like Nadal...
Haas, Del Potro, Simon, Monfils....and that's those with really serious injuries!

He also said that he'd swap all his trophies for a pair of healthy knees....yet he chooses not to retire but exposes those knees to further damage.

Yes but it's true that we want to hear more about his than we would of any of those other players. We know how important it can affect the other top players. How many more slams Djoko and Fed woudl have without him?

Do you mean in the future?
That's where the REAL knee mystery begins!
I reckon Nadal would never have returned to competition (esp this very physical one and even worse for him with this 25 sec rule) was he not confident he could win more slams....
What does that tell us about the knee injury then?
Proper clay season is only a month away and I can't wait for it.
I also even look forward to seeing Nadal play Bellucci or Ferrer in Acapulco.
I was hoping for at least a decent match from Nalby last week but he turned out to be a disaster.

noleisthebest wrote:
Do you mean in the future?

I mean past ones. What if Nadal had not been around or had had injured knees like Kent Carlsson whose career stopped at 20 because of damaged knees.

I reckon Nadal would never have returned to competition (esp this very physical one and even worse for him with this 25 sec rule) was he not confident he could win more slams....

I am not so sure about that. There are millions of fans who want to see him and that means $millions to cash in...win or lose. Being under the spotlight and earning more money is very much a drug for those who have tasted it.

What does that tell us about the knee injury then?
Proper clay season is only a month away and I can't wait for it.
I also even look forward to seeing Nadal play Bellucci or Ferrer in Acapulco.
I was hoping for at least a decent match from Nalby last week but he turned out to be a disaster.

The thing is we cannot say nor guess how much his knee is affecting him. But to me he certainly doesn't look like someone who is going to do well on any surface this year. Yes he is still a pain to play for the average player but those who have played him many times will find him easy meat.

The adrenaline/addiction is the only explanation...so much so he does not care for the long term health consequences.I can actually understand that.

He was probably told the knees could be functional fir normal post career use with a surgery, so he is giving it one last go. I don't blame him.

Yes...and the money side is certainly not to underestimate either. He is probably making $10M/year just by turning up and fulfilling his sponsors contract. (I think it's double that easily but just to be on the safe side). Kind of money he will never make when he retires.

Nadal is a one-off in many ways, it's hard to imagine anyone like him (and here I mean the whole package:Toni, spin, left arm, knees ...) , he really moves and lives in one strange bubble (as a lot of pros do) and that way of life must have affected him.
Fame and adoration he must have received is probably a lot more intense than the one Fed gets,as Nadal's fan base is totally different.
The way he carried on in the Chille trophy presentation where he was actually a runner up (Zeballos won) and especially the crowd and organisers who treated him as if he actually won not HZ....was almost disturbing. Imagine what goes on behind closed doors!
It's not healthy for the mind to be worshipped like that on a daily basis year after year now....

[quote="noleisthebest"]Fame and adoration he must have received is probably a lot more intense than the one Fed gets,as Nadal's fan base is totally different.
The way he carried on in the Chille trophy presentation where he was actually a runner up (Zeballos won) and especially the crowd and organisers who treated him as if he actually won not HZ....was almost disturbing. Imagine what goes on behind closed doors!
It's not healthy for the mind to be worshipped like that on a daily basis year after year now....[/quote]

Very true...we do not imagine how much it affects them...especially since they are kind of bound to have big egos and unhealthy focus about themselves to start with...even before they get famous. In that respect Toni was probably very good with Nadal as the latter knows he woudl have got nowhere without the former.

Just imagine....being stopped and asked for a photo by women of all ages, shapes and sizes... every day...

I imagine perfectly!