World number one Rafael Nadal said that despite the “overloaded” men’s tour calendar, he’s still in good shape and ready to slug it out in this week’s Madrid Open – an ATP 1000 claycourt tournament.
“It’s a fact that there are too many matches but that’s the way the calendar has been set,” Nadal was quoted as saying in a news conference on Saturday.
“I am feeling fine right now, content and in good shape physically,” he added.
The Spaniard, currently enjoying a 30-match winning streak on clay, won three titles in three weeks (Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome). He’s favored to win the “inaugural” claycourt tournament. The Madrid event used to be played on indoor courts but was shifted to clay to serve as a major tune-up to this year’s second Grand Slam – the French Open.
Nadal has a bye into the second round and will face the winner between Spain’s Albert Montanes and Austria’s Jurgen Melzer on Tuesday.
