Basel (Switzerland) (AFP) – Inamin ni Rafael Nadal kamakalawa na siya ay “scared” sa kanyang unang pagsabak matapos ang isang dekada sa Swiss Indoors tournament habang ipinagpaliban muna ang kanyang appendix surgery.
Si Nadal, na huling naglaro sa Basel noong 2004 at may kartadang 0-2 sa hometown ni top seed at karibal na si Roger Federer, ay uumpisahan ang torneo ngayong araw laban kay Italian qualifier Simone Bolelli.
Ang 28-anyos na nine-time French Open champion ay kasalukuyang gumagamit ng antibiotics na inaasahang makatutulong sa kanya na maipagpaliban ang appendectomy surgery ng ilan pang linggo.
"It's going to be one of the most dangerous first rounds in a 500 tournament that I've played in a long time," pag-amin ni Nadal.
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"I am not 100 per cent sure what is going to happen tomorrow. I haven't practised well enough or enough times. My body feels more tired than usual when I'm playing.
"Practising is one thing, competing is another. When you compete you have the adrenaline, the heart goes faster, and I don't know how my body is going to answer.
"I'm a little bit scared about how my body is going to react. Some of my injuries have been after antibiotic treatments. Hopefully that won't be the case this time."
Si Nadal ay sinabihan ng kanyang mga doktor na maaari siyang makapaglaro sa kabila ng problema sa appendix na namaga noong katatapos na Asian ATP swing.
Ito ay isang problema na nadagdag sa sunod-sunod na career setbacks ng world number three.
Ngunit nananatili si Nadal na optimistiko, kahit pa naniniwala na maliit ang kanyang tsansa na makopo ang tropeo sa isang event na si Federer ay nagawang manalo ng limang beses.
"This week will help to improve my indoor game. I haven't played during this week in the past years, so that's a plus," saad ni Nadal. "It will be a tough comeback but I try to stay positive.
"Injuries are part of sports and a big part of my career. I take it day by day. I don't know wether I will be able to play on top when I'm 33 (as Federer is doing). I'm just thinking about tomorrow."
