Rafael Nadal, fresh from winning his 11th title on the clay at Roland Garros, will start on the grass courts at Wimbledon on July 2 “with less preparation,” he told Spanish newspaper El Espanol.
Nadal, 32, has been training for the past week on Mallorca, his home island. He will travel to London on Monday to step up his preparation for the tournament he won in 2008 and 2010 .
“I had a very intense campaign on clay and my body needed rest because drastic changes are not good,” Nadal said in an interview published on Saturday.
“I had to spend time adapting physically and in my tennis to the surface,” he said. “I will certainly arrive at Wimbledon with less preparation, but...I’m going with confidence high because I played very well through the whole clay-court season.”
He explained that “from next week I’m going to step it up, train hard and play a couple of exhibition matches” in London as he prepares to take on his rival for the No. 1 ranking, the defending Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, who is chasing a ninth title at the event.
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