Skeptics say the wear-and-tear of his physically-demanding style of play could contribute to a short shelf-life at the top of tennis for Rafael Nadal and eventually cut short his career, but the second-ranked Spaniard plans on sticking around for several years.
A knee injury sidelined Nadal for two months, preventing him from defending his Wimbledon title and a strained abdominal slowed him in his US Open semifinal loss to Juan Martin del Potro, but Nadal believes time is on his side.
In an interview with CNN Asia, Nadal says people often overlook the fact he started playing the pro tour consistently at age 16 and believes his seven-year pro career is proof he has time on his side.
"Everybody can have his own opinion, but you know what? I am 23 years old and a lot of people finish their career at 29, but I started at 16 so I have seven years of career and I am not finished," Nadal tells CNN in an interview he conducted in Shanghai last month. "I expect to be here and I hope to be here for a long time. I've had a few injuries this year and had a very difficult year. But the last five years I was the No. 1 or No. 2 player, who played al ot of matches and I was there all the time."
In past interviews, Nadal has pointed to the 11-month scheduled as the source of players' physical pain and has suggested the ATP should shoulder the blame when highly-ranked players lose early in an event or withdraw.
"I think that when a player loses in the first round or pulls out — and they get criticized — the tournament should ring these people [the ATP] and tell them that it is their fault," Nadal said in a past interview. "I have had some email conversations with these people but it is true that they end up doing what they like and I am getting tired of it all."
In the new CNN interview, Nadal says the demands of the weekly Tour have prompted him to schedule his own breaks for rest and recovery.
"Tennis is a hard sport, a very, very tough mental sport because you play a lot of matches during the season and you have to be ready every week," Nadal tells CNN. "So you need to be very focused all the time — 100 percent physical and mental — if you want to have chances to have a good result. Sometimes you feel you need to stop. I played every week for a long time and I forgot I had to stop for an injury."
Clay-court king Nadal edged resilient rival Roger Federer, who fought off three championship points, to dethrone the five-time defending champion with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 triumph in the 2008 Wimbledon final that spanned four hours, 48 minutes and will remain embedded in the minds of many as a match for the ages.
The six-time Grand Slam champion said the Wimbledon win was the most meaningful match of his life.
"(It) was amazing. A lot of emotions in the match," Nadal tells CNN. "Was a really important match for me. One of the most important matches of my career — if not the most (important). It always was a dream for me to win Wimbledon one day, to play well at Wimbledon My feeling was (in the) 2007 final I really had chances to win. When I lose that final (it) was really, really hard for me. When I lose (in general) I am angry, but after a few hours I am (OK). I am sad especially more sad to play bad than to lose. If I am playing okay and I lose the other one plays better and that's it... The second (Wimbledon) final I feel I don't know if I will have another chance. My feeling on grass...(it) always seems strange to me. I was playing probably the best tennis of my career (in the 2008 final). I thought before the match, that it's my time. I have to win today."
Nadal became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the Roland Garros and Wimbledon double in 2008. It is a feat Federer duplicated this season.
