World No 2 Rafael Nadal’s biggest challenge in the new season, apart from regaining full fitness, will be to get accustomed to his new racquet. The Spanish ace, who has just recovered from a shoulder injury, that saw him miss the latter part of last season, has opted for a heavier racquet to pack more punch.
“Yes, probably a little bit tough now at the start, with the new racquet. So, is it a risk at the beginning of the season?Obviously, yes. You cannot think that everything will be perfect from the beginning, but you make the change thinking it will be better in the future.
“It’s like an investment.I don’t know how to put it. It’s like trying to improve something; few things in my game that we believe we needed, like the winners, the serves,” revealed Nadal.
Nadal revealed, he and his team decided on the switch of racquet after the US Open last year, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in the finals.
“We thought about the change after US Open but there was very little time as I had to immediately play in Tokyo and Shanghai. It was only after the Davis Cup final that I had all the racquets prepared at home for the change. I had just one week but I was like if not now, when? So we decide to change,” said the 25-yr-old.
Winner of 10 Grand Slams Nadal, however, revealed that the shoulder injury didn’t allow him enough time to prepare. “I had to stop after Davis Cup finals. So, I finished on Sunday and I started next Wednesday. I didn’t want to stop because the period of time was very short (break between seasons).
So I wanted to keep practicing to be in form for beginning of the season, but I had to stop for my shoulder. I really couldn’t play with my forehand and serve.So I stopped for two weeks. I was working in the gym and didn’t go for holidays.I was working at home but not on court and started practicing one and a half week ago.So the period was not enough, but I am working hard every day here to try to reach my best level,” said Nadal, adding that his shoulder is still is far from perfect.
“The shoulder needs more power, because when you have an injury, the muscles around also lose the power.However, things are better as I was able to play here with no pain; so that’s important.”
Despite injury concerns, Nadal is in no mood to cut down on the power play he is known for over the years. “I answer this question every year and have always said no. Playing with less intensity?That, you know is not my style and I cannot choose that. So I will play like this until my mind and my physical performance say, finish.That’s what I am going to try.”
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