Rafael Nadal will test his troublesome left knee again this week at the Mexico Open, then decide if he’ll brave the first Masters Series event of the year on the hardcourts of Indian Wells.
Spain’s 11-time grand slam champion will end a three-tournament Latin American comeback tour in Acapulco, playing in his third ATP claycourt tournament in four weeks.
He came back from an injury layoff of seven months to reach the final at Vina del Mar in Chile, and followed up by winning the title in Sao Paulo on February 18.
In Brazil, he needed just 78 minutes to beat Argentina’s David Nalbandian 6-2 6-3 in the title match.
But the 26-year-old says he still feels intermittent pain in his left knee and could yet opt out of the hardcourt tournament at Indian Wells, where men’s main-draw play begins on March 7.
Nadal is a two-time champion in the California desert, east of Los Angeles.
That tournament is immediately followed by the Masters Series event in Miami where he has never won.
“Let’s see how my knee responds in Acapulco. We will discuss what has happened during these three tournaments and what I thought about it,” Nadal said after his Brazil triumph.
“Then we will see if we are ready to play in Indian Wells or not.”
Nadal said it wasn’t the thought of stepping up against top competition like Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and compatriot David Ferrer that caused him to hesitate, nor was it the possible stresses of the hardcourt surface.
It’s just the simple fact that his knee is still not 100 per cent.
“It’s better and I’ve been able to compete, but it’s still bothering me,” he said after arriving in Mexico.
“It’s better on some days and worse on others, which isn’t ideal for someone like me, because my idea of competing is based on giving it all at all times.”
In Acapulco, Nadal is the second seed behind Ferrer, the world No.4 who will arrive in Mexico fresh from a successful title defence in Buenos Aires.
The men’s field for this combined ATP and WTA event also includes 2008 champion Nicolas Almagro and Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, a semi-finalist last year who lost to Ferrer in the Buenos Aires final on Sunday.
The women’s field is headed by defending champion Sara Errani.
