Melbourne puts Nadal's recovery from flu to test

Melbourne: World number one Rafael Nadal put his recovery from a bout of flu to the test with a rain-interrupted practice session at Melbourne Park yesterday ahead of next week's Australian Open.

A fever-stricken Nadal was dumped out of the semi-finals of the Qatar Open last week by Russian Nikolay Davydenko and delayed his arrival in Melbourne to try to shake off the illness.

Nadal's struggles had raised fears the 24-year-old Spaniard's bid to hold all four Grand Slams simultaneously might be in jeopardy, with doubts over his ability to last seven matches in the often oppressive heat of a Melbourne summer.

Heat was the least of Nadal's problems on a damp but muggy yesterday, as slippery conditions on court curtailed his practice session after about half an hour at the venue's Margaret Court Arena.

Nadal scooped the French, Wimbledon and US Open crowns last year and will strive for an Australian Open triumph to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four slams at the same time.

Warm up

The Spaniard was among a raft of contenders warming up at Melbourne Park yesterday, including last year's finalist Andy Murray and former US Open champion Andy Roddick.

Leading women's players Venus Williams and Australian Open finalist Justine Henin also warmed up, while men's defending champion Roger Federer and world No 3 Novak Djokovic were scheduled for training sessions later yesterday.

Players' hopes of acclimatising to Australia's summer heat on outdoor courts may come to nothing this week with showers and cool temperatures forecast throughout.

The Australian Open starts on Monday.