Don’t quiz me about my knee, pleads weary Rafael Nadal ahead of Monte Carlo Open

Rafael Nadal thinks it is time for everyone – including himself – to stop banging on about his dodgy right knee. 

 “After seven months without playing or practising I have to take care of my body,” he said on Monday. “But talking about my knee every day is not helping me.”Nadal was forced to take two weeks of almost complete rest at the end of March, after his comeback had climaxed in a stunning victory at Indian Wells. Still, the fact that he is regaining confidence in his own bashed-up frame should alarm his major rivals.“If something is going very wrong that doesn’t give me the chance to compete I will let you know,” said the Spaniard, who will face Fernando Verdasco or Marinko Matosevic tomorrow in Monte Carlo.“Today I’m here to try my best and I want to be focused on the tennis, not on my knee any more. Because in the end if the knee is 50, 90, 80, 100 per cent, it isn’t going to change the situation.”The 26-year-old’s record on clay – he has lost just one match in 45 in Monaco, and one in 53 at Roland Garros – is one of the most phenomenal streaks in sport, up there with Don Bradman’s mastery of Ashes cricket. But while he admitted that his very success had created its own pressures, he now feels as though he can start afresh after his seven-month lay-off.“When I won the first Monte Carlo and the first Roland Garros, at that moment I thought now I will have the chance to play the rest of my career with more calm, because I did my dream,” said Nadal. “And it is completely the opposite. When you come back the next year you feel more pressure than before.“A lot of big emotions happened for me in the past, but this year is probably more special. Just to be back and playing in these places is fantastic. I don’t feel that pressure that I felt in the past. I know that after all that happened the normal thing [would not be] to repeat all of this.”Meanwhile, the French Open announced its 2013 prize-money package on Monday. The total pot has climbed from last year’s €18.7 million (£16m) to €22 million (£18.80m) this time, an increase of just under 18 per cent. Even though it remains the least generous of the four grand slams, the players see this as a good offer.“The progress that has been made with the Australian Open, US Open and Roland Garros has been significant,” said Eric Butorac, a member of the ATP player council. “We hope that Wimbledon, a tournament that has always been player-friendly, will step up in a way that is representative of its tremendous success.” 

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/9996142/Dont-quiz-me-about-my-knee-pleads-weary-Rafael-Nadal-ahead-of-Monte-Carlo-Open.html