Article 7day 26-02-07

Rafa aims to make his Marc

RAFAEL NADAL feels no added pressure going into this week’s tournament as defending champion – but admits draws don’t come much harder. That’s because the Spaniard - who stunned world No.1 Roger Federer last year’s final - must face dark horse Marcos Baghdatis in tie of the first round. And although the 20-year-old has beaten the Cypriot star in their two previous meetings, he knows what a tough test he will provide on centre court tomorrow night.

RAFAEL NADAL feels no added pressure going into this week’s tournament as defending champion – but admits draws don’t come much harder. That’s because the Spaniard - who stunned world No.1 Roger Federer last year’s final - must face dark horse Marcos Baghdatis in tie of the first round. And although the 20-year-old has beaten the Cypriot star in their two previous meetings, he knows what a tough test he will provide on centre court tomorrow night.

Nadal, who beat Baghdatis at Wimbledon and at Indian Wells said: “Yeah, that will be a difficult match. “In Wimbledon, I played one of my best ever matches and I know I’ll be playing a very tough match. “But there is always the same pressure – you want to play good tennis and be up at the top of the world. “The pressure is the same but it is nice to come back here as champion – I want to come back here and try and find my best condition. “I know if I play well I will be No.2, or high in the rankings, and if I play bad I’ll go down. “But really it’s about Dubai and if I’m playing well I will have a good chance.”
Nadal played down any concerns over both his fitness and form going into this week’s tournament. The two-time French Open champion reached the semi-finals in Chennai, India at the start of the year before a groin injury forced him to withdraw from the International Series event in Sydney. The left-hander was fit enough to play in the Australian Open in January, the first Grand Slam of the year.

But after a gruelling five-setter against Andy Murray, he had little left in the bank and crashed out in the quarter finals, losing to eventual runner-up Fernando Gonzalez in straight sets. He said: “I wasn’t playing all that well in Chennai and then I came into the Australian Open and thought I was playing better – but that match against Murray killed me.

“I’m used to long matches but there was a lot of action and a lot of running about and energy in that one. “After the problem in Australia I had less of a physical problem, I had a fever. “I practiced too much with the fever maybe, maybe tried too hard to come back, but now I’m 100 per cent.” Federer may be lurking on the other side of the draw, but Nadal, who leads 6-3 in head-to-heads, tried to avoid any focus on the rivalry between the two this week, simply acknowledging just how good the Swiss genius is.

The likes of Baghdatis, Murray, Czech Tomas Berdych and Frenchman Ricard Gasquet form an increasingly strong new wave of young players alongside Nadal. But Federer’s own sky-high levels are improving all the time, making him a daunting figure for the game’s young guns to aim for. He said: “Federer is so good at the moment, I don’t now if he can keep getting better. “I’m happy as I’ve been No.2 for two years, but there are still things I can improve on.

“I don’t know if I’ll win this year or next year, or the years after but right now Roger is best and I’ll just keep trying.” Nadal denied that Federer’s dominance was bad for the game, adding: “It’s always the same, we always have had rivalries in the game. Sure I don’t have the best of luck playing with Roger here, but I will just keep playing.”

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