Spanish coach Toni Nadal does not consider his charge Rafael Nadal as one of the favourites for Wimbledon but believes he can still have a good fortnight at SW19.
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Rafa, seeded No10 this tournament, will begin his quest for a third Wimbledon trophy today against Brazilian lefty Thomaz Bellucci in a rematch of their first round here three years ago.
The Spaniard, who is 4-0 lifetime against Bellucci, had a mixed preparation on grass, winning the title in Stuttgart before losing in his opening match at Queen’s Club to Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Toni feels his nephew is in good shape but does not give him as much of a chance of winning the title as he gives the current world’s top-three.
“I think he is not the top favourite here. I think the top favourites are (Roger) Federer, (Novak) Djokovic and (Andy) Murray,” Toni told Sport360 after Rafa finished an intense practice session with Roberto Bautista Agut.
“But after these three, I think Rafael can be one of the… I don’t know… with Wawrinka, with Berdych, with Kyrgios… he can have the possibility but not the most possibility.”
After capturing a second Wimbledon trophy in 2010, Nadal lost a final here against Djokovic the follow year, but hasn’t had much success at the All England Club since – losing in the second round, first round and fourth round on his last three trips.
Toni is happy that the knee troubles that hampered Rafa’s campaigns in 2012 and 2013 have subsided but is aware that grass is a tricky surface for his student.
“At the moment the level is good. When you’re in practice, the level is good enough but we know that here on grass courts there are always dangers. Sometimes you feel you’re playing really well and then you go there and everything changes in one minute,” said the 54-year-old coach.
“It’s different now because we came here some years we couldn’t play because Rafa couldn’t go down low with his knees for the low-bouncing balls. It was impossible to make a good tournament. Now we can make a good tournament. If we do or not, I don’t know, but we can.”
Asked if winning the title in Stuttgart has given Rafa enough confidence on the surface, Toni said: “Enough? I don’t know. It was good for confidence because he was playing at a good level, good matches against good players. But then we played in Queen’s and we lost. We needed a little more, if in Queen’s it was the same as Stuttgart it would have been so much better.”
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, who faces Bosnian Damir Dzumhur in the first round today, says he’s feeling ready for the action this fortnight although warned that the courts are typically slippery in opening week, revealing he took a stumble in practice yesterday.
Both Rafa and Bautista Agut also had heavy falls during their hitting session.
Asked what he felt is the most important thing to look out for in the first week at Wimbledon, the second-seeded Federer said: “You just find a way to come through. You try to win as quick as you can so you don’t waste energy.
“In the beginning the grass does play more different, it’s more slippery, I fell down today in practice, so you just have got to be more careful with your footing. It’s not as straightforward. But then as the tournament progresses it gets easier to move around and that’s when the best players also start playing their best tennis.”
Meanwhile, French No13 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who faces Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller today, says he has recovered from the abdominal injury that forced him out of Nottingham last week.
The former Wimbledon semi-finalist said: “I’m feeling good, I’m alright, in good shape and ready to go. I’m fit and I’ll try to play my best tennis.”
2013 champion Andy Murray faces Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin on Centre Court today. The Scot is being tipped as one of the hot contenders for the title but he insists he is not getting ahead of himself just yet.
“The most important thing is to concentrate on your first match really, and prepare for that. It's very easy to get carried away and look ahead, think ‘I'm playing great tennis, everything's going to be fine’,” said Murray.
“But the reality is it doesn't really matter what's happened the rest of the year or in the buildup to the event as I think Stan (Wawrinka) proved at the French Open.
“You have to make sure you're ready each day for every opponent that you come up against.
“I'm certainly not getting carried away.”
