Nadal places practice behind recuperation

French Open champion Rafael Nadal admits his preparations for Wimbledon will be less than ideal.

The 27-year-old became the first man to win eight singles titles at one grand slam when he defeated fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3 6-2 6-3 at Roland Garros on Sunday.

In 2008 and 2010 Nadal won both the French and Wimbledon titles, but he played down his hopes of a repeat before he had even left Paris.

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On Sunday it was announced the Spaniard had pulled out of this week’s grass-court event in Halle because he needs more time to recover from his physical exertions of the past few weeks.

The French Open was Nadal’s seventh title from the nine events he has played since returning from knee problems in February, and he lost in the final of the other two.

Last year the Spaniard suffered his earliest grand slam exit in seven years when he lost to 
Lukas Rosol in the second round at Wimbledon, and he will arrive at the All England Club having not played on grass since.

“I will check everything after here,” he said. “I will check all my body, and I really hope to be ready for Wimbledon. I won’t play a tournament before Wimbledon, so that’s not the ideal situation before a grand slam like Wimbledon that is on grass and the conditions are very different.

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“It’s the tournament that is more unpredictable for that reason. But I am going to try to arrive in good shape to Wimbledon. And if not, I am going to look about the rest of the season.

“Because I’m in a good position, even if I don’t play a good Wimbledon. That doesn’t mean I am not going to try, because I am going to try 100 per cent to be ready for there and to play good tennis there.”

By a quirk of the rankings system, Nadal dropped to No 5 in the world rankings despite the victory in Paris.