Sport | Tennis

Spanish ace upbeat after knee injury

Rafael Nadal has got into competition mode rather smoothly despite the fact that he has been out of action for over two months.

  • By M Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
  • Published: 23:19 January 3, 2009
  • Gulf News

Abu Dhabi: Rafael Nadal has got into competition mode rather smoothly despite the fact that he has been out of action for over two months. His rivals should have known when the world No 1 declared his knee injury was completely healed and he was ready to start off in Doha next week and then move onto the first Grand Slam of the year - the Australian Open.

After a smart 6-2, 6-3 win over Russian Nikolay Davydenko in the Capitala World Tennis Championships here on Friday, Nadal said he was pleased to be back on court. "I am really happy and my knee is fully healed," said Nadal, who took over as world No 1 from Roger Federer last year.

"I decided to accept Abu Dhabi's invitation after I saw that the others who were coming were the best. With Roger, (Andy) Murray, Nikolay, (Andy) Roddick and James (Blake) you cannot ask for better competition," the left-hander said.

And the 22-year-old, who has been playing since the age of four, said he was feeling in good shape after an off-season stint at home in Mallorca. "It has been nearly two months since I played competitive tennis, so the first month is always tough,

"I have not set goals for 2009. I am also not going to be under any pressure as it does not matter to me where I finish in the ranking. I will be looking to be positive and have a good attitude. Just try to improve my game and be a better player," the Spaniard added.

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