Nadal intends to play at Wimbledon

MADRID • Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal confirmed yesterday he plans to play at Wimbledon, but his final decision rests on how his troublesome left foot feels after training in London next week.

"My intention is to play at Wimbledon," the record 22-time Grand Slam champion said.

"The treatment and the last week of training tells me there is a chance. I will travel to London on Monday, play an exhibition at Hurlingham and do a week of training to see if it's possible."

Nadal said that injections meant his foot was "asleep" during the French Open final earlier this month when he beat Casper Ruud to claim a record-extending 14th title at Roland Garros.

In the aftermath of his victory in Paris, the Australian Open champion said it was no longer feasible for him to keep using painkillers.

But after travelling to Barcelona last week to begin "pulsed radiofrequency stimulation", a procedure aimed at reducing nerve pain, the 36-year-old is happy with the way his treatment is progressing.

He had his first practice session on grass on Monday at the Mallorca Country Club and has steadily increased the intensity of training this week ahead of Wimbledon, which starts on June 27.

"I have noticed a difference, some slightly strange feelings to be honest," said Nadal. "With the treatment in the nerves, things happen in your foot, sometimes one part of the foot goes numb, sometimes another.

"It's normal apparently and after a few weeks, the nerves reorganise themselves. I'm happy, I haven't been limping for a week. I've felt a bit of pain, but it's different to before, which for me is progress."

Nadal has won Wimbledon twice in his career, in 2008 and 2010.

He missed last year's tournament due to pain in the same left foot while the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so he is looking forward to his first appearance at the All England Club in three years.

After Wimbledon, he intends to play at the US Open which he missed last year through injury and the year before over Covid-19 concerns, and the Canadian Open will be one of his pit stops on the hard-court swing.

Away from tennis, Nadal also confirmed widespread media reports that after 17 years together, his wife Mery Perello was expecting a baby.

"If all goes well, I'm going to be a (first-time) father," he said.

"I'm not used to talking about my personal life, I prefer to keep a low profile for tranquility. I don't anticipate this to mean a change in my professional life."

In yesterday's grass-court tournaments, Italian second seed Matteo Berrettini, who reached last year's Wimbledon final, beat American Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-2 to move one match from his second successive ATP Tour final in as many weeks at Queen's, following his victory in Stuttgart.

World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, who is barred from Wimbledon together with his fellow Russians due to the war in Ukraine, defeated Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-4 in the quarter-finals in Halle, Germany.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE