Nadal - Andy deserved it

Rafael Nadal believes it is only a matter of time before Andy Murray becomes Britain's first tennis player to break into the top three in the world.

The injury-hit Spaniard was defeated by Murray on Sunday, as the 21-year-old Scot claimed his second ATP title of the year with a 6-3 4-6 6-0 win in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
The victory was Murray's second over Nadal in 2009 and his third in succession, although the world's leading player was hampered by a knee injury during the Rotterdam final and required treatment.
Despite his injury, Nadal heaped praise on world number four Murray, who he believes could make further progress up the rankings and become Britain's first ever world number three.
"Andy deserves this triumph and I congratulate him, he is playing very well this year and has already won two titles," said Nadal.

Nothing serious

"He could become the number one, two or three in the world.
"It was not my best day. I had problems but I don't want to talk too much about these. Andy played very well. These things happen in sport.
"I'd rather talk about the good game of my opponent, who can look back at a fantastic tournament," added Nadal on the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament website.
"I know how well he is able to play and in the final he has shown that time after time. He has only lost once this season, to (Fernando) Verdasco in Australia. He won the tournament of Doha and now here in Rotterdam."
Regarding his injury, Nadal is hoping he will be fit enough to play in the Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday, saying: "I hope it's nothing serious and I will be able to play in Dubai, but we will have to see how the injury evolves.
"Now I'll have a week's break before I play in Dubai and I hope to have no problems. Above everything I had a great week in an important tournament."

Nadal calls for changes

Rafael Nadal has called for fewer tournaments on hard courts following his victory in the Australian Open.

The Spaniard's five-set victory over Roger Federer was his first Grand Slam win on such a surface, but he re-iterated a view expressed before that matches played on clay and grass take a lesser toll on the body.
The 22-year-old also called for an end to the seemingly endless expansion of the tennis season, which now runs for 365 days a year.
"This surface is tougher than grass or clay for the body, and all the time we are playing more on this surface," he said.
"In my humble opinion, we have to change that a bit more. I can say that because I won a grand slam on hard (courts).
"Before if I say that, a lot of people think 'he wants to change because he's a clay player'. But believe me, I don't think anything about if I am a clay court player or not.
"When I say this, I think about the best for the players and for the future. It's not possible to have a lot of injuries on tour like this. So we have to try to change something.
"To play with this aggression and with this rhythm all the time from the 1st of January to 31st of December is impossible."
Nadal, who suffered a knee injury towards the end of the last year and now wears knee supports, expressed concern that the rigours of life on tour could impinge on his quality of life post-retirement.
"I love football - I can't play football right now because I am playing (tennis) - but I would love to play football with my friends later when I finish," he added.
"I would love to continue playing tennis and to do what I want (after retirement) but if we continue to play this (many tournaments), later maybe it's going to be tough to practice sports."