Nadal Struggles to Adjust to Madrid Bullring in Davis Cup Match
By Alex Duff
Rafael Nadal has grown comfortable on the main courts at Wimbledon and the French Open. He's struggling a bit with his newest venue, a bullring in Madrid.
Nadal, who took over tennis's top ranking last month, and his teammates from Spain will face the defending-champion U.S. in the Davis Cup semifinals starting tomorrow. The matches will be held on a clay court built in Las Ventas, a 69-year-old arena that hosts 70 bullfights a year.
Nadal, 22, said he was over-hitting balls in practice. Lower air pressure in Europe's highest capital, at 600 meters (1,969 feet) above sea level, makes the ball travel faster than normal.
``We'll have to take more care than on any other normal court,'' Nadal told reporters. ``If you hit the ball in the center, it seems like it's going to go out.''
The Spanish tennis federation picked Madrid as a Davis Cup venue for the first time in 14 years against the wishes of Nadal and his teammates. The higher altitude may help the big-serving U.S. team, featuring Andy Roddick and 6-foot-6 (2-meter) tournament rookie Sam Querrey.
``If we can get a little advantage over there, that could be it,'' Querrey said in an interview.
The best-of-five event runs for three days, and the winner will face either Argentina or Russia, who are playing on a clay court in the Estadio Parque Roca in Buenos Aires.
Querrey, a 20-year-old Californian, served 20 aces to Nadal's six and won a set from the Spaniard in a 3-hour, 12- minute fourth-round match at the U.S. Open on Sept. 1.
Biggest Bullring
The Davis Cup matches are on a specially made court in Spain's biggest bullring, a red-brick arena that includes a chapel for toreros to pray. The U.S. team will use the bullring's library as its locker room. All 21,000 seats are likely to be sold out for the three-day event, organizers said.
``I don't know if we'll ever get a chance to play in a bullring again,'' Roddick said. ``It's just cool.''
Nadal, who won the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic gold medal this year, and fifth-ranked David Ferrer are set to play singles for Spain. Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez probably will play doubles.
``This will be my last big effort both physically and mentally before I take a break,'' Nadal said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aSsJQ68VIfpk&refer=uk