It's not so much that Rafael Nadal prefers clay over grass; it's the timing of the two seasons that has made him a more accomplished player on clay.
Bad back affects Rafael Nadal's chances at Wimbledon
That is evident from an article in tennis.com, chronicling the struggles the No. 1 player in the world has had at Wimbledon during his career.
Nadal, who grew up playing on clay, won four French Opens titles from 2005-08. But he worked hard to improve his game on grass because Wimbledon remains the most hallowed of the Grand Slam tournaments.
"For me, (Wimbledon) is a tournament I love so much," Nadal said. So much so that he went to Halle, Germany, a day after winning the French Open to compete in the Gerry Weber Open to try to get ready for Wimbledon, which begins next week.
Rafael's biggest challenger at French Open his own inner demons
He lost in the first round to Dustin Brown, knowing full well the fatigue factor coming off the French Open title over archrival Novak Djokovic plus a back injury that has been ailing him since the Australian Open in January.
Nadal broke through against Federer, considered the greatest grass-court player ever, at Wimbledon in 2008 and appeared ready to take over the tennis world. But injuries started affecting his career. He lost to Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the 2009 French Open, his only loss at Roland Garros. Shortly after that match, it was reported that he was suffering from tendinitis in both knees and withdrew from Wimbledon a few weeks later.
"Grass always was a little bit harder for me after the injury," Nadal said of his record from 2009 onward. "I get injury here (Paris) in 2012; I played 2012 Wimbledon with that injury. I never played a match after that Wimbledon. Last year I tried, but I was not enough ready to compete in Wimbledon."
And that is the dilemma that faces the 28-year-old Nadal. Continually winning at Roland Garros - nine times in 10 years - has meant that he has had less recovery time for Wimbledon than every other tennis player except each of his French Open Finals opponents.
And in a career that has been hampered by injuries, the quick turnaround is significant.
And despite telling tennis.com he feels healthy coming off the French Open title, he also has said that he needs to rest his back a bit before Wimbledon.
Which may prevent him from winning there for the first time since 2010.
Do you think the quick turnaround from the clay-court season to grass-court season affects Rafael Nadal more because of his nagging injuries? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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