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The Spaniard wanted to test his wrist and shoulder after 14 days of inactivity · Complete two light sessions without discomfort in the hamstring · Babolat is the mark of Roland Garros balls, replacing the Dunlop, which has the remaining tournaments on clay

On Wednesday February 9, a day after the presentation of the Barcelona Open, and when he had exactly 14 days after the rupture of two centimeters in the hamstring of the left leg, Rafael Nadal returned to training at the Center for Modernization of Manacor. After the visit on Tuesday to Dr. Angel Ruiz Cotorro in Barcelona, the world's No. 1 received a medical discharge. The ultrasound showed the tennis was that the lesion was healed.

Nadal returned to the preparatory meetings ahead of time so as not to further lengthen the inactivity in areas like the wrist and shoulder then suffer in the return to racing, which for Tennis will be from 4 to 6 March, during a best of five sets in the first round of Davis Cup tie against Belgium in Charleroi.

The Spaniard will catch a flight on the same Sunday 6 to the completion of the series, headed for Portland, where he will join Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams for the opening of a pavilion built by Nike at the University of Eugene. Federer, Nadal and Sharapova will move then to Indian Wells, location Masters of the first 1,000. Serena will have less of a hurry, that waiver to play the tournament since 2001 when she and her sister Venus were treated, according to them, in a racist manner by the fans.

Babolat by Dunlop

After the Dunlop brand last year achieved the unprecedented unify a same ball for the whole land tour, including Roland Garros, the three 1000 Masters on clay, Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid, the Barcelona Open 500 and 250, Estoril, the second 'Grand Slam' of the year has broken again, the deck. Dunlop ended contract with the French Open and the leaders of the Federation gala have opted for a company in the country, Babolat, to be supplying the balls for the next five years.

For Nadal, Roland Garros and five-time champion of the crown, in the year that seek to reach the six gimped of Bjorn Borg, the change "will not affect it is the last tournament the clay season. The problem would be if it were in the middle. We traveled to Paris a week before the tournament and enough time to adapt, "he explains.

"I am very happy to have experienced everything I have lived until today. So, like the positive moments of last year I took them in stride, I must accept the moment that there have been so good"

Rafa Nadal, world number one tennis and winner of the international Laureus sportsman of 2010, noted that this season would be content to achieve "much less" than last year, which won three Grand Slam tournaments, etc. titles.

While Nadal has had a similar start to the season of 2010, when it was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Australia Open tournament and left the injured, the Spanish tennis player said, "sign a lot less than what was achieved last year."

"What sign is to continue working day by day and enjoying what I do, which to me is very nice. I am very happy to have experienced everything I have lived until today. So, like the positive moments Last year I took them in stride, I must accept the moment that there have been so good, "he said.

"I've had some bad luck earlier in the year and I accept with the same calm, knowing that this is part of the sport and see what happens between now and the end of the year," he continued.

Of the injury that occurred in Australia, a hamstring in his left leg adductor, Nadal said he's very soon recovered and re- training.

"The recovery is perfect. I can not say more positive things. In the end, in recent tests, we saw that it is less serious than it seemed at first so I'm very happy. If you start to train the Thursday, I'll do it next Monday, so it's all very advanced, "he said.

Again in the Davis

The reappearance of the world's number one competition is planned for the Davis Cup tie played against Spain Belgium from 4 to 6 March in Charleroi, a tournament that last year the team led by Albert Costa fell to France by a resounding 5-0, having won the title the previous two years.

Nadal, who could not participate in the elimination of some physical discomfort, said the heavy defeat does not mean that this year there are spirits of revenge on the Spanish team.

"In the desire Davis are the same as always, do not change because of what happened last year. I do not believe in revenge or anything like that. Last year France was at a very high level and be accepted. We had won two consecutive years and is very complicated, "he said.

About the award itself, Nadal said: "This award is the award for work, not just of 2010 but of life. It's a dream come true complete the circle in this way, I'll keep it in memory because it is difficult to repeat and now forget 2010 and start think in 2011, "he said.

The current number one tennis said the Laureus "are the most prestigious awards in the sports world and is therefore not one more, because as competition got the best in the world of individual sports. For me it is a satisfaction enormous that the best athletes in history have been chosen as the best athlete of 2010. "

Ferrer beat Nadal 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. Rafa will not play again until March.

In two hours and 33 minutes, beat David Ferrer 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 to Rafael Nadal, and will face Australian Open semifinals to Andy Murray, winning in four sets Dolgopolov. In contrast, for the second consecutive year, Nadal lost in the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam ocean (of 360 points equals ATP 2010), and leaves the track with an injury mid-range.

In the last point of the third set, Nadal rebounded and won a left Ferrer. But just at that moment, when concretized their first game of the match (the score remained 2-1 to Ferrer), Nadal made a face of pain and worry. Immediately, touching the left leg called the physiotherapists of the tournament, with whom he went to the locker room of the Rod Laver Arena. Was declared `time out ', stopped the game, and Nadal came back with the left leg bandaged and face not a good feeling. "It's the hamstring," he was heard saying as he passed to Toni, his uncle and coach.

Maymó Rafael, Nadal physiotherapist, also went to the locker room after the time-out: regulation, Maymó Nadal can not attend, but only took over the situation. Returning from Maymó, Toni Nadal and had things clearer: "Rafa has had a hamstring problem in the` 'of the left leg and has been a bad move in the game and within the track. Before playing was uneventful. Maymó not assess the extent of the injury, a torn hamstring fibers in the area, as confirmed by Toni Nadal himself after the game. It is recalled that Nadal just enjoyed a week of rest after closing net official season 2010 with the final of the Masters Cup in London, and in December the same pre-season preparation was dispersed with displays Federer charitable company in Zurich and Madrid.

On his return from Nadal, Ferrer shot up 5-2. Putting the rest, even Nadal 5-4 and rowed to service, but in the service of the tenth game, Ferrer was subtracting more and more, to sentence the first round to the third 'set point', after 70 minutes. Nadal pessimism gestured toward his uncle Toni, who clearly told him: "Do not force." With Nadal playing clearly preserved, Ferrer easily settled second and third sets, 6-2, 6-3 in just 83 minutes added. With a total of 44 hits winners (Nadal, 19) seven times Ferrer broke Nadal's serve, who even managed to achieve three 'breaks' on the services of David.

This is the first victory over Nadal Ferrer since 2007, after seven consecutive victories Rafa. "Clearly, Rafa could not run well, and it was a difficult situation for everyone, but even so it is not easy to beat someone like Rafa, who always fights to the end," said Ferrer. Nadal's initial intention is by not compete throughout the month of February, only to reappear, if all goes well, in March, the tie Belgium-Spain Davis Cup and the 1000 U.S. Masters on hard courts: Indian Wells and Miami.

Swiss claims `The Master 'for the fifth time, something available only to Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl • The pupil of Paul Annacone adds his 66 th title in his career • Follow maintaining an unfavorable H2H Nadal (14-8) · Rafa sum 1,000 points

Roger Federer won his fifth Masters Cup after downing Rafael Nadal in an intense final that was decided in three sets. A game in which the powerful Swiss service, full-ball effectiveness and freshness break leg were crucial to the Basel title number 66 will point to his credit.

The `Nadal-Federer was' lived the twenty-second meeting between these two artists of the racket on a movie set as the O2 in London, packed with 17,000 spectators for the occasion. Rafa or Roger or exhibited the best of its versions, but still did not disappoint the audience. The victory, this time was for the Swiss, who won by an aggregate score of 6-3, 3-6 and 6-1 after one hour and thirty-seven minutes. This is the fifth for Federer Masters Cup (he won previously in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007), who leads the ranking of triumphs in Masters Cup equaling the mark of Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl.

Although face to face only twice in the last two years (both duels in the final of the Madrid Masters 1000), Federer and Nadal have extensively studied. So it is logical that both jump to the mat with the cards raised, no tricks up its sleeve to guard and trying to make your move the better. Federer was the one who won the toss and decided to start serving, seeing right choice was the Swiss during the game in this statistic. Throughout the first set, only yielded three points for Nadal who had a chance while he was successful with his serve, but that he saw Roger endorsed the manga based on good reversals and uploaded to the network. It was always key in the eighth game, after a Rafa untimely double fault, when the Basel won the long-awaited break in the first opportunity. Then, he had trouble closing the first set in his favor.

Nadal endured until his legs did

If a player you would expect any kind of comeback that is Nadal, always ready to flip a result however had been back since. The Spaniard reacted after the brief recreation and added a more aggressive about putting on the table a string of heights, speed effects and missing so far. To this was added a game `dark 'by Federer, the fourth of its second act, where the Swiss sent two doubles right into the hallway giving Rafa the break. He suffered the world's No. 1 to keep the rent, but knew how to take advantage of the positive dynamic that had sunk to force the third and final set. The story was waiting and now again dressed gala.

Tennis is a sport where you can go from euphoria to tears in just four strokes. Everything seemed to have become favorable to Nadal's epic, which at times recalled the combative player who solved the difficult compromise semi-final against Murray. But I was tired. He had said in the preview and now reflected that he would not bluff. Gotta have options as he accompanied the service, but Federer took advantage of a loophole in the minimum game lose respect. It was in the fourth game when the Swiss translated this domain and that was breaking the game. Nadal which deflated balloon reaches a certain height and must exploit. The cluster of matches of the season seemed to crush the coup, upload your legs and move cost him a win. On the other side of the track, flying Federer wisely. The Express 'Swiss' had enough fuel to reach the goal with his arms in the wind. A victory Nadal deserved to a certain will have more opportunities.