Nadal: Not enough time to adjust to grass
French Open champion Rafael Nadal is determined to make an impression at Wimbledon this year but believes his chances of success have been hindered by the tour schedule.
The Spaniard won his eagerly-anticipated clash with Roger Federer at Roland Garros on Sunday to extend his winning run on clay to 60 matches and improve his record against the world number one to 6-1.
He has not been that effective on grass, however, and now has just two weeks to become accustomed to the faster, lower bouncing conditions which will be evident at the year’s third grand slam event.
In his previous two senior appearances, Nadal has won just three matches although he does cite his run to the last four as a junior four years ago as cause for optimism.
“I got to the semi-finals of the Juniors so this means I played some good matches,” he said following his four-set triumph over Federer. But I still have to improve some parts of my game. You need to prepare yourself and we have not got much time.
“The tour is not well organised in my opinion. We have not much time between the two major tournaments of the year.”
Wimbledon kicks off on June 26 with Federer already an overwhelming favourite to win the trophy for a fourth successive time.
“Federer is more adjusted to grass, so it’s going to be difficult for me to go there with a good chance,” Nadal added.
“But I’m going to make an effort in the following days to be ready not only for this year, but also for the following years.”
Nadal jets into London on Monday to start his grass court season at Queen’s and he knows expectations of him are low.
“I know people will think I am going to lose in the first round at Queen’s because to adapt is very difficult, especially in two days,” he said.
“I want to play with concentration to give myself a chance of playing well because that’s important for my confidence ahead of Wimbledon.
“Grass is different for me because I like to slide a lot. When I go to a difficult ball I slide but I can’t do that on grass.”
He may struggle on the turf but there is no doubting Nadal is the undisputed king on clay.
Federer started well in Paris, romping through the first set but Nadal gradually wore him down to secure a 1-6 6-1 6-4 7-6 (7/4) triumph.
The result brought an end to Federer's hopes of joining Rod Laver and Don Budge in the history books.
The Basle-born star went into the match knowing a win would enable him to match Laver and Budge's achievement of being the only men to have held all four grand slam crowns at one time.
Afterwards he was philosophical but rued missing out on the chance to add the French title to his Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open crowns.
“I am disappointed because it is a shame to have come this far and yet miss out on such a rare opportunity,” he said.
“It’s a pity that I did not play as well as I wanted to. There is no frustration on my side because I tried.
“It’s just a pity but life goes on. I have no other choice but to accept the fact that I lost.”
