Nadal Admits Knee Still a Problem

MASON, Ohio -- Always perfect is impossible.

That's what Rafael Nadal said Wednesday after beating Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3) in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters tournament.

It's what he said when he admitted that his knees are still hurting.

First questions in interviews are always the same now for Nadal, who is just coming back from knee tendinitis. The knees?

"Yeah," he said, giving his pat answer. "The knee was good."

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No, it was not. Nadal looked awful on the court, great timing, great fitness, great strategy. But he couldn't move. Not the way Rafael Nadal is suppose to move.

So I asked: When you say the knees are good, are you saying they don't hurt at all?

Nadal gave the longest pause for a question he didn't want to answer. And then he finally said it, that the knees still hurt.

"Always perfect is impossible, no?" he said. "But when I say it's good, I can play with no problem, no?"

No. He has problems. And to watch him up close was to get a sad, almost sick feeling. And know that when he talked, he was quiet and down. He knows he just isn't the same.

Does he wonder if he ever will be? I do.

He has been back for only about a week now, and it's too early to draw final conclusions. But what Nadal gave before the injury was something tennis had never seen before, someone leaving blood on the court. Blood and guts.

Also, knee tendons, I guess.

He was doing something special, throwing everything he had not only into every match, set or game, but also into every swing. He was storming the court. Is that lost now? Or is it just temporary?

He is not believing in his body. You could see that during the match. He ran fast, tried hard, fought. But he seemed unwilling to plant and change directions, to slap his foot down on that final step before hitting.

And while hard courts have never been his surface, he played strategically well, but couldn't get into position to attack the way he wanted to.

"When I have the very good results on hard courts, I played really aggressive," he said. "I played big shots with the forehand and big shots with the backhand (by) playing inside the court."

By attacking, and not staying way back behind the baseline.

"But you can play inside the court when you have a good feeling. If you don't have a good feeling, it's difficult to go inside the court, no?"

Nadal has lost not only his No. 1 ranking back to Roger Federer, but also the mental edge he had over his rival. For two great special athletes who get along well, their fans sure have a nasty rivalry going. Federer fans will tell you that the reason Nadal reached No. 1 in the first place was that their hero had mono.

Apparently, they think mono lasts for nearly a year.

The truth is that Nadal passed Federer, became the better player. His style threw Federer off his game, and out of his mind. Always perfect is impossible? Nadal was there for nearly a year, especially when he beat Federer in that Wimbledon final in 2008.

"Always perfect is impossible, no?"
-- Rafael Nadal on his hurting knees Federer was always going to fight back, though. And now Nadal has to.

But can he? He seems to be trying to get back to his old workout schedule. And it's his style of play that puts so much pressure on his body, with every shot, every minute of practice all out. Twenty-three years old and he already has bad knees. That's not an automatic career-ender. But he has to make changes.

He did hit some serves up to 122 mph Wednesday on big points. And that was a great sign because he needs some cheapies, some quick points. He also needs to flatten out some shots, go for winners.

And he needs to play fewer tournaments.

"It's very difficult to have a lot of breaks when the third week of January you have to play a Grand Slam (the Australian Open)," he said. "It's very difficult to have a lot of breaks when after three weeks, you have two Masters Series in a row, and after, you have three Master Series in four weeks.

"So what break can I do? Give me the week. ... The ATP can change the schedule. I can't change the schedule."

Here's the week, Rafa: Until your knees are 100 percent, if they can be again, blow off the Australian Open entirely. When the year is over, take a month or more off. You will be saving all that time from hard-court practice. Then, pick up the clay and grass seasons.

But if he's not going to change his tournament schedule or his practice schedule, and only make small changes in his serve, well, let's just say he can't expect to do all the same things and get different results.

Moping. Nadal was actually moping on the court at times Wednesday.

Seppi praised him but then acknowledged that Nadal wasn't moving well: "Maybe a little bit. You can see maybe with the knee."

Do you think you moved well today, Rafa?

"I can move better," he said.

Nadal said that beating Seppi, ranked No. 45, is a good starting point, and that the courts are super fast here, which is not good for a guy still trying to find his timing.

His goals, he said, are just to get better every day. And then when he got up from his chair, he let out a groan.

Hey, you're not supposed to be doing that until you're my age, I said.

He laughed and slapped me on the arm.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com