Under-prepared Nadal adjusting to heavier racket

World number two Rafa Nadal said his preparations for the new season had not been ideal as he adjusted to using a heavier racket.

The Spaniard, who plays Germany’s Philip Kohlschreiber in the first round of the Qatar Open on Tuesday, believes his game may suffer in the short term after making the switch but would improve in the months ahead.

“My preparation is not the perfect one, and I’m trying to play with a little bit heavier racket, to get a little bit more power,” Nadal told reporters on Monday.

“(With the new racket) I’m losing a little bit of control now, sometimes I don’t feel the forehand as good as before. But it’s something that I believe can help me in the future.”

Nadal said he had first considered switching to a heavier racket after the U.S. Open in September but would not have had time to adapt because of his playing schedule.

“After the Davis Cup final I had all the rackets prepared at home to change,” the 10-times grand slam champion added. “In theory I’m supposed to practise almost a month or at least three weeks with the (new) racket, but finally I practised only one week, and I’m here now, so probably it’s not good enough.

“You can’t think that everything will be perfect from the beginning, but you make the change thinking it’ll be better in the future. There’s no magic, but the new racket can help a little bit to improve my game. It’s a risk I’m taking at the beginning of the season.”

Nadal ended a relatively barren year on a thrilling high when he battled back from a set down to beat Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro and secure Spain’s fifth Davis Cup triumph in early December.

The 25-year-old won just three singles titles in 2011, his fewest number in seven years, but was reasonably happy with his season.

“I think I played a fantastic seven, eight months during 2011. Out of the first eight months, I think, seven months were really, really good.

“I lost against Djokovic in all the finals, but I lost only against him. So that’s a really positive thing, play almost every final in all the difficult and important tournaments.”

Federer, Nadal start season at Qatar Open

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are eyeing a confidence-boosting victory at the season-opening Qatar Open. But Novak Djokovic, elsewhere in the Persian Gulf, is already showing signs that made him such a force in 2011.

Djokovic wrapped up his first title in Abu Dhabi on Saturday and said he is feeling better than he did at this time last season. That does not bode well for the No. 2 Nadal and No. 3 Federer. After all, the top-ranked Djokovic won three Grand Slams on his way to a 70-6 record.

Nadal, who lost to Djokovic in the U.S. Open and Wimbledon finals in 2011, said expectations for the Serb are clear

“Everybody thinks that Djokovic will be difficult to beat, no?” Nadal said. “Not just myself.”

Nadal, seeded first, opens Tuesday against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Federer faces Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, whom he beat in the final last year. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France plays Malek Jaziri of Tunisia while Gael Monfils takes on Rui Machado of Portugal.

All seeded players advanced in Monday’s first round. Fifth-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia beat Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-6 (4); sixth-seeded Alex Bogomolov Jr. of Russia rallied past Filippo Volandri of Italy 5-7, 6-4, 6-2; and eighth-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy downed Lukasz Kubot of Poland, 6-2, 6-3.

Nadal suggested that, for now, he has come to terms with being No. 2.

“You know in the sport … you cannot be every time in the top,” he said. “I think I played fantastic for seven, eight months in the 2011 season.

“I lost against Djokovic in all the finals, but I almost only lost against him. So that’s a really positive thing, play almost every final in all the difficult and important tournaments.”

Nadal lost to Djokovic in six finals in 2011 and wouldn’t say whether he can reverse the trend. The Spaniard has said he felt his tennis in 2011 at times was too predicable. He has started using a heavier racket to increase his power. His preparations for the season have been curtailed by a left shoulder injury that he says has healed.

“The only thing I know is I have to practice to improve my tennis. For the rest of my career, I don’t know if that’s going to be enough to beat him (Djokovic) or to lose to him 100 more times,” Nadal said.

“I don’t even know, but I cannot predict that,” he added. “What I can predict is I (am) going to work hard to try to be enough competitive to play with good chances against everybody, not only against him because the first thing, you have to be in the finals. That’s a very difficult thing to do, not only win that once.”

Federer, too, couldn’t avoid questions about Djokovic, who beat the Swiss in the Abu Dhabi exhibition tournament last week. He lost to Djokovic in the Australian Open and U.S. Open but exacted some revenge at the French Open semifinals by ending Djokovic’s 43-match winning streak.

“He was definitely the most consistent player of this last year, and he looks like he’s in good shape again for this upcoming season,” Federer said.

“So it’s obviously someone who is going to be followed very closely not just by the media but also by the players,” he said. “I think we’re also all feeling pretty well, as well, so it’s going to be interesting for all of us to see who’s going to have the best start to the season.”

Federer said his strong finish last season—a 17-match winning streak that culminated in a record sixth title at the year-end championships in London—has given him hope.

“You can definitely take confidence from the end of the year and sort of just carry it over because you’re in a good mindset,” Federer said. “You know, you just believe that you’re doing the right things on the court. You’re not second guessing yourself. From that standpoint, confidence is … it’s a huge part of our, you know, life sometimes as a tennis player.”

As for the chances of regaining the top ranking or winning another major this season, the 16-time Grand Slam champion said it was too early to make bold predictions.

“You have to go step by step, and right now focus is on Doha, my first round. It’s a tough one against Davydenko,” Federer said.

“Then I do hope I can move on and defend my title here and then go to sort of Australia and make my move over there,” he added. “Then I have a lot coming up in February, as well, for me. So it’s going to be an interesting next two months for me because I will be playing a lot of tennis. So I hope that I will hold up well physically.”

Federer said there was no need for significant changes to his game because he has been playing well.

“I think the offseason has been too short to take any major, you know, change, anything crazy,” he said. “I mean, I have had what, 20 days of practice? I don’t think anybody can reinvent themselves within three weeks. Given three months, things can change a bit.”

NADAL AIMS TO KEEP WORKING HARD

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal insists he will keep working hard and playing at a high intensity to be competitive at every tournament this year.

"I will play like this until my mind and my physical performance say, 'finish'," said Nadal, who has been training for the past 10 days, at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha on Monday.

"If you are working very hard physically, but your mental game is not there, you don't feel competitive, you won't feel hungry to keep winning or to keep fighting every ball. If you're not ready to compete and to combine both things, [it] will be very difficult to be competitive in all the tournaments."

Countdown To 2012: Nadal Confronts Djokovic Challenge

The Spaniard starts the 2012 ATP World Tour season 4,035 South African Airways ATP Rankings points behind No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic, who he lost to in six finals last year.

"I think everybody thinks that Djokovic will be difficult to beat. Not myself. You cannot be on top every time. I lost against Djokovic in all the finals, but I only [just] lost against him. That's a really positive thing. He did better than me and that's it.

"I don't know if I can beat him. The only thing that I know is I have to practise to improve my tennis, and that's what I going to try to do. For the rest of my career, I don't know if that's going to be enough to beat him or to lose him 100 more times. I cannot predict that.

"What I can predict is I going to work hard to try to be competitive enough to play with well against everybody, not only against him, because first thing - you have to be in finals. That's a very difficult thing to do."

Nadal is scheduled to play German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the Doha first round.

FEDERER DRAWS DAVYDENKO IN DOHA

If World No. 3 Roger Federer wants to defend his title at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, he’ll first have to get past the player he defeated in the 2011 final, Nikolay Davydenko. “There is a bit of pressure on my shoulders being the defending champion,” admitted Federer. “But I’ve been in this situation many times before, so I hope it goes well.”

Federer topped the Russian 6-3, 6-4 last year to claim his third trophy at the event. “It’s strange to have played him in the final last year and now the first round this year,” said Federer. “But other players also have tough draws.”

Davydenko, whose South African Airways ATP Ranking has slipped to No. 41, is just 2-15 against Federer. He did however knock off the Swiss in the Doha semi-finals two years ago en route to lifting his 20th singles crown, upsetting Rafael Nadal in the 2010 title match. “Knowing Davydenko’s potential, that he’s been a very consistent Top 4 player for many years, it makes him dangerous,” Federer stated.

The 30-year-old Federer is riding a 17-match win streak following an impressive display of form to close out the 2011 season. He won titles at the ATP World Tour 500 event in Basel, BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, and a record sixth year-end championship at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. His run enabled him to overtake Andy Murray at No. 3 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. “I am feeling good. I had a great end to the season last year and I usually have a good start to the next season as well,” said Federer.

“Then again, the player field is really tough here. Like in past years, Doha is able to get the top players to come.”

Schedule for this week

Three ATP World Tour 250 events launch the 2012 season this week, in Doha, Brisbane and Chennai.

Qatar ExxonMobil Open: The draw in Doha features three Top 10 players, which includes No. 2 Rafael Nadal, No. 3 Roger Federer and No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Federer won the event last year, but opens with Nikolay Davydenko in a rematch of the 2011 final.

Brisbane International: World No. 4 Andy Murray makes his debut in Brisbane and is joined by 12th-ranked Gilles Simon, World No. 15 Alexandr Dolgopolov and 2009 champion Radek Stepanek, who is seeded sixth

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Aircel Chennai Open: Two Top 10 stars lead the field in Chennai – No. 9 Janko Tipsarevic and No. 10 Nicolas Almagro. Third-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka looks to defend his title, and could play home favourite Somdev Devvarman in the second round.

LENDL TO COACH MURRAY

Former World No. 1 and eight-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Lendl has been appointed as the new full-time coach of World No. 4 Andy Murray. The Scot spoke with Lendl on the phone during his off-season training in Miami and then travelled to meet with the Czech-born American before making his decision.

The 24-year-old Murray is this week making his debut as the top seed at the Brisbane International and will hope to win his first major title in four weeks’ time at the Australian Open, where he has finished runner-up in the past two years.

Explaining his decision to work with the 51-year-old Lendl, who is taking up his first coaching position, Murray said, "I liked what he said and how he felt about my game. I think he has obviously got a lot of experience. I also think he has been through a lot of the same things that I have been through, so I am sure he can help me mentally with certain things. And also just his eye for the game; he obviously understands tennis very well.

"I think when he played he was a very hard-worker," continued Murray. "He is also one of the most successful tennis players ever, so he obviously has a lot of knowledge and information that he can give me and pass on to me. And he was just a very honest guy as well, which is very important because not everybody is like that. A lot of people are maybe too nice sometimes, they just don’t want to upset you or say the wrong thing. But he was very honest, very open and that was important."

In his first three Grand Slam finals, Murray was thwarted by Roger Federer (2008 US Open, 2010 Australian Open) and Novak Djokovic (2011 Australian Open), and he fell to Rafael Nadal in three major semi-finals last season. The Dunblane native explained one of his objectives with Lendl would be to find a way past the Top 3.

"I spoke to him about a lot of the top players and how I am going to beat those players and how to see their weakness and how I can exploit them; I like that. So I am sure he will help me tactically as well."

When questioned on Lendl’s lack of coaching credentials, Murray responded, "The best coaches don’t always make the best players and the best players don’t make the best coaches. So I think that is something that I am sure will be a challenge for Ivan and he seemed quite excited by that as well. He has never coached before and he was saying that he was willing to learn. I am looking forward to it."

DJOKOVIC WINS EXHIBITION EVENT IN ABU DHABI

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic capped off his debut with a $250,000 winner-take-all prize at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Saturday, cruising past David Ferrer 6-2, 6-1 to win the exhibition event in Abu Dhabi. “I must say I'm really happy with the way I'm playing,” said Djokovic. “Playing against the top players in the world in this way gives me a lot of confidence.”

Djokovic previously defeated third-ranked Roger Federer and Gael Monfils. “Usually at this stage, you are trying to find your speed on the court, agility, just dynamics of every stroke,” the Serbian said. “But I found it already, to be honest, right away after the first match.”

Ferrer upset two-time defending champion Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, but was unable to settle into the match with Djokovic. “I tried but maybe I played at a deficit all the time,” said Ferrer. “I fought, but with Djokovic at the moment, it's difficult to beat him… He was better than me. He played a really good match.”

In the third-place match, World No. 2 Nadal defeated Federer 6-1, 7-5. “It was a positive match,” stated Nadal. “I played better than yesterday and that was the most important [thing].”

Both Nadal and Federer will head to Doha for the 20th staging of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, which begins Monday. The Swiss is the defending champion, having topped Nikolay Davydenko in the 2011 final.