PARIS // Rafael Nadal is bracing himself for another Wimbledon letdown as he prepares to rekindle his love-hate relationship with the All England Club.
The 28-year-old Spaniard stormed to a ninth French Open triumph on Sunday with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 win over Novak Djokovic which also secured his 14th grand slam crown.
But he is not optimistic about collecting a 15th major when Wimbledon gets under way on June 23 despite having been champion on two occasions.
His first title in 2008 was followed by a knee injury-enforced absence 12 months later.
In 2010, he was Wimbledon champion for a second time before finishing runner-up to Djokovic the following year.
Things then got steadily worse with a second-round exit against Lukas Rosol in 2012 sparking a seven-month absence from the tour as his knee problems flared up again while, in 2013, he was dumped out in the first round by Belgian journeyman Steve Darcis.
That was the only time Nadal has ever exited a grand slam in the first round.
“I am going to Halle on Monday [for the grasscourt warm-up event in Germany]. I want to try to play well at Wimbledon again,” Nadal said.
“I am healthy, that’s the most important thing. I hope my knee will have a positive feeling on grass because I felt my knee was better last year on the other surfaces.
“Grass is always a little bit harder for me after injury. I played Wimbledon in 2012 with my knee injury and I never played another match after. Last year I tried but I was not ready enough to compete.
“Let’s see how are my feelings this year because it’s a very important tournament.”
After his loss to world No 135 Darcis last year, Nadal came under pressure to skip future grasscourt seasons if he wanted to prolong his career.
One of those urging him to rethink was three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker who has since gone on to join Djokovic’s coaching set-up.
“He definitely has to consider whether grass has a future for him,” Becker said at the time.
“Grass is very different compared to the other surfaces. Your movement is different and you have to have healthy legs because you’re changing direction, you’re slipping and sliding.
“If you have a knee problem, grass is the worst surface. Hard courts are not as bad because you have a firm position, you can put your foot down and stand up to hit the ball – the bounce is higher so you don’t have to bend as low.”
Even Nadal admits he is unsure over how he will fare in Halle, where he is top seed after skipping the tournament last year.
“I know probably the result will not be the perfect one because the days of preparation are not the right ones. And after how tough the match was today physically, I will be more tired.”
Nadal, who has pulled level with Pete Sampras on 14 majors and now stands just three off the all-time record held by Roger Federer, also believes his fifth successive French Open win was the sport’s payback for his loss to Stan Wawrinka in the the Australian Open final.
Again, his challenge was hobbled by injury – this time by back trouble.
He said that his rollercoaster form in the pre-Roland Garros claycourt season, when he lost three matches for the first time in a decade, was a direct result of that shattering loss in Melbourne.
“Stan played amazing, I don’t know if I would have been able to beat him. But I didn’t compete in that match and that was hard to accept.
“I had a few months where I went down mentally. I was fighting but didn’t feel strong enough. But for the last month, I had my motivation and positive feelings on court again.”
sports@thenational.ae
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Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
RESULTS
Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18
Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
