FILE – Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Dusan Lajovic of Serbia & Montenegro during their first round Men’s Singles match on Day Two of the 2017 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Richard Heathcote/Getty Images/AFP
MONACO — For now, Rafael Nadal doesn’t see himself skipping any major tournaments the way Roger Federer has been sitting out the French Open.
The veterans are back at the top of world tennis, with Nadal needing to win the Monte Carlo Masters this week to avoid losing his top ranking once again to Federer in their seemingly eternal battle for tennis supremacy.
For the second consecutive season, the 36-year-old Federer is skipping the entire clay-court season in order to be at his best on grass.
After coming back from injury to win the Australian Open last year, Federer skipped the clay-court season, won Wimbledon, and retained his Melbourne crown to extend his record tally to 20 majors.
The Swiss star is keeping his aging body fresher by playing a bit less — avoiding Nadal on clay at Roland Garros or elsewhere — and it is working for him.
But Nadal still thinks he can play a full schedule.
“There (are) tournaments that I can’t imagine missing on purpose, because (they are) tournaments that I love to play,” Nadal said on Wednesday. “I don’t see myself missing Monte Carlo on purpose. I don’t see myself missing Wimbledon on purpose, or the U.S. Open, or Australian, or Rome. These kind of events, I don’t see missing (them).”
The 31-year-old Spaniard recently returned from a right hip injury which forced him to retire during the fifth set of his Australian Open quarterfinal against Marin Cilic.
With his 32nd birthday coming up on June 3 — during the French Open — the 16-time Grand Slam champion accepts he may think differently when he gets closer to Federer’s age.
“Of course, when you get older, you need to adjust a little bit more the efforts and the calendar. But for me (it) is difficult to say I don’t play, for example, grass, or I don’t play hard (courts),” Nadal said. “(It) is not in my plan, but I can’t say ‘never’ because I cannot predict what’s going to be in the future.”
Nadal is chasing an 11th title at both Monte Carlo and Roland Garros, which begins on May 27.
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