TMS - MADRID

October 17, 2005

Rafael Nadal

THE MODERATOR: There's some rumors about him not playing this tournament this week. He's got a little injury in his knee. He's come here to say the reality, which is not that he's not going to play, obviously. I can make him speak English, we have a laugh.

RAFAEL NADAL: No, because when you go a little bit fast...

RAFAEL NADAL: (Translated from Spanish) Well, I just wanted to say, it's a notice I want to make. I want to tell you that my knee is injured. You know last week I quit at Vienna because I was not feeling well with my knee. I really wanted to play Vienna, but I couldn't. It's not that I didn't want to, but that I couldn't. I didn't want to leave the tournament as I did. So this week I'm also a bit injured. I thought I was feeling better in the beginning, but yesterday was the day I started feeling pain. I had an MRI, and it's tendonitis, a severe one in my knee. But my will is to play no matter what happens. I'm going to try to keep my training down today and tomorrow. It's not the best thing to keep my tennis level up and to keep fit, but it's the best for my knee. I'm really looking forward to playing this tournament. After the Davis Cup, I rested for two weeks, trying to get ready for the tournament. I tried to recover, recuperate. I've been working with a physiotherapist. I'll try to be ready for Wednesday. I wish to play a good match. I'm going to go practice now. No more questions (smiling).