should rafa nadal pull out of some US open series to rest knee?

Question

i think he should pull out of either montreal masters or cincinatti masters because playing back to back masters could be devestating on his injured knee on hardcourts!!! he should rest his knee for the US open..bloody hell y the knee injury now!!! curse federer not our rafa!!! he might even need surgery if it doesnt get better!!! god help us!! federer musta been praying so he can win the US open!!! this is horrible news..i pray federer gets injured too!!!

Answer 1

Double edged sword....take time off to rest not play a tourni or two and end up either loosing momentum or giving someone else the edge small that it may be. On the up side he may need to to prevent any major injury.

...don't take time off play through the pain and risk serious injury that could sideline you a lot longer.

Yes, take a little time off rest, get physio, rehab the knee with strength training. Rafa is a tough competitor it won't end up hurting him. According to Rafa he doesn't work out or lift weights ...... hmmmm.... genetics eh?

As for Roger I would like to see him set some new records so hopefully he'll stay healthy for a long time....God only knows.

Answer 2

I don't think he should, but I don't think he should play a whole lot, considering the knee problems. I think his best bet would be to just play one tournament (Montreal). If he can get at least 2 weeks rest before New York, it would benefit him dearly.

One problem he's had is playing a few too many matches. He should definitely cut back. One other future adjustment I would suggest, is Rafa not playing any more clay court tennis after Wimbledon. It would do wonders for his game if he focused more on the hard courts.

Nadal's health is more important than gaining points for the U.S. Open Series. It's not like he'll fall in the rankings if he misses anything. He's too far ahead of the others to be concerned about anything. He could take 2 weeks of rest before the U.S. Open and still go in and win it.

Federer may have beat him at Wimbledon, but Rafa is closing the advantage gap between himself and Federer on any surface (clay, hard, grass, or carpet). It's only a matter of time before Rafa dominates on every surface.

Other than that, he should just play 1 tournament to be fair to himself and his health. It could be the difference between sustaining a major injury and possibly winning the biggest tournament of the year.

Answer 3

If his goal is to win the U.S. Open, he should definitely rest his knee. But I don't think he cares much about the U.S. Open. If he did, he wouldn't have gone and played on clay in Stuttgart. How does playing on clay in Germany on a gimpy knee help him prepare for the U.S. Open? He could have rested (like Federer is), or he could have played in the hardcourt ATP Los Angeles (like James Blake and others). Instead, he went back to his favorite surface and got an easy, meaningless victory.

Federer never gets hurt in part because he rests alot. He doesn't care about playing tons of events and racking up lots of cheap points. He paces himself to play strong the whole year, not to fade in the second half like Rafa always has (and now that he's a little injured again, possibly will again this year). When Nadal learns to pace his schedule better, he'll have a better shot at staying healthy and maybe even becoming a factor at the U.S. Open for once. Until then, though, he's unlikely to do much on hardcourts again this season.

Answer 4

Oh man, tough question. Without knowing the extent of the injury it's hard to speculate but here's my two cents worth:

He just finished playing in a clay tourney which may be softer on the joints than hard court but is offset by the longer points. The fact that he went straight into another tourney suggests that his injury isn't that serious so I'd say he SHOULD play.

Moreover, as big a fan of Rafa as I am, he's not proven that he can consistantly succeed on hard courts. Not sure why that is but they've just not been good to him. It's likely more mental than anything.

Anyway, I WOULD suggest he keep the tuneup tourneys to a minimum. I would rather have seen him go to Indy, skip Montreal and go to Cincinnati. Cincinnati is favored by most of the players because the courts play similar to those of the US Open so it's a nice preview before NY.

Even if he didn't win or push himself, he would at least go in with some game-speed experience instead of rust if he were to lay off. Very few players can shake the rust off that quickly in a major tourney and for a player who's hard court record is suspect, it's even more important that he go into the US Open with some momentum.

Btw, don't wish for an injury to Federer. That would only hurt Nadal. If Nadal beats Federer at full strength, he's got a legitimate arguement for #1. If he beats Roger while Roger is injured, his win will always be surrounded by questions. As a true competitor, you ALWAYS want to beat your competition at their highest level because it legitimizes your game.

Answer 5

First off NEVER and I mean NEVER hope that a player gets injured no matter how much you hate him. I agree that Rafa should sit out but maybe after playing a match or two. Play at Montreal for a round or two and see if it hurts or what not and retire from the match/withdrawl from the tourney and then don't play in Cincy. Him playing last week seemed to show that his knee was fine so maybe he really doesn't need rest. Just the 7 straight days of playing at Wimbledon was just getting to him.

Answer 6

I agree, I think he should pull out of just one of the Masters Series. I'd hope it would be Cincy, because we in Canada love watching that guy play!

I also think he's probably thinking about it seriously too, because ever since he's been one of the top players in the world he's been revising his schedule a bit better to suit the U.S. Open as well as the Masters Cup. Vamos Rafa! Don't push yourself too hard! Be smart!

Answer 7

come on man...what kinda things are you saying?

why would you want to curse another player to get injured? read it back man...you are praying that fedex gets injured...this is an utmost humiliation for a sportsman...dont you have any grace or class?

i love nadals game as well...there is no one like nadal in the whole history of tennis...his intensity and power is unrivalled

but fedex is the champ...there is one legend...and fedex is it now...rafa is close yes...but till he grabs the no.1 spot from fedex...he will forever be remembered as the king of clay and the longest reigning no.2

anyway rafa should be resting...he should set his sights on the US open...he already has a history of knee problems...aggravating it wont do him much good...

i do hope that in the US open both fedex and rafa will be tested and pushed to play their best...

and rafa_rulz...be a sportsman,,,show some class...applaud the champion...cheer your hero...dont pray another gets injured...

Answer 8

No, he should play and play and play, so he can hobble into the U.S open, only to be spanked by Federer.( I hate Nadal as much as you hate Federer.) Seriously, I don't wish injuries on anyone. Federer is slowly but surely , getting Nadal out of his head. He could have crumbled like a little bee-otch at Wimbledon, but he dug down deep and pulled it out. Bring him on at THE OPEN. Fed-man is marching towards tennis immortality. FEDERER,FEDERER, FEDERER !!!!!!

Answer 9

No...he's only playing in bout 3 tournaments...his knee will be fine...why does Federer need to get injured?? i would love to see a Federer-Nadal III at the US Open!!!

Answer 10

rafa probably should sit out for a tourney or two and take some minor rehab to avoid surgery as he is a great player and that could majorly effect his play
i dont want federer to be hurt tho.. neither are my favorite player but both are very talented and deserve to be 100%