The Sunday Mail
RAFAEL NADAL has even greater motivation to succeed as he returns from injury at the China Open. The Spanish 14-time grand slam champion is set to play for the first time since Wimbledon at the ATP 500 event in Beijing. In his first match back from a wrist injury, Nadal overcame Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in an exhibition in Kazakhstan.
He said every injury made him hungrier, but it remains to be seen how rusty he will be in his return.
“Every time when I come back after an injury I have an extra motivation,” Nadal said.
“I’m set to work hard to gain my top form and to return to my level. I’m very happy to have an opportunity to play tennis.” Nadal, the 2005 champion at the hard-court tournament, was runner-up last year. Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic has enjoyed remarkable success at the event.
He is a four-time champion and is undefeated in his past 20 matches in China, winning consecutive titles in Beijing and Shanghai the past two years.
Even with Nadal’s return, Djokovic shapes as the man to beat.
Czech Tomas Berdych, the 2011 winner, Croatian US Open champion Marin Cilic and Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov are also in the field.
Cilic is a two-time runner-up and the tournament in China marks his first since he claimed his maiden grand slam title.
Nadal will draw all the attention on his return, and he needs to be at his best if he is to deny Djokovic. – Opera
