Rafael Nadal admits that he decided to pull out of this week’s tournament in Barcelona not because of specific pain in his knees, but because he wants to protect his body form wear and tear. Last year the Spaniard injured both his knees and was unable to perform his best at Roland Garros, and then was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon, where he was the defending champion.
“If I had lost in Monte Carlo on Wednesday, I would have been [in Barcelona],” Nadal said. “We plan our calendar by matches, not by tournaments. I had a bad year, then I returned to my level and my goal now is to stay healthy. I’m in perfect shape. I feel very good, but I don’t want a repeat of what happened last year. For my tennis to be at the right level, I have to be physically well and that’s my principal objective. I’m being as cautious as possible so that I can play the maximum amount possible. Playing three weeks straight is not the best for me.”
The ATP 500-level tournament in Barcelona has lost not only Nadal, but also Nikolay Davydenko, Juan Martin Del Potro, Radek Stepanek, David Nalbandian and Tomas Berdych.—M.C.