Committed to the Indian Wells Masters 1000, where he is due to compete this Saturday against the American Sebastian Korda, the Spaniard explained at a press conference on Friday that he wanted to manage his playing time and his rest time, to save his foot left, injured last year and who, after an operation, kept him off the courts for more than four months.
"When will my foot be 100% healed? Never. It's an injury that can't be healed. It's the truth. Some days it's fine, some days it's not. You have to manage it as best you can and find a way to play as much as possible without limits," he said.
"To say that my foot is no longer a source of concern for me is not true. I am worried about my foot every day. We will see how it will evolve. There will be a time when it will take that I do a little more care, maybe stop for a little while and find the right balance between playing and resting. Getting good tournament planning right and sticking to it. That's my goal." -he adds.
Failing to go to Florida, where he has never won despite five disputed finals, the world No.4 will already try to extend his series of 15 victories in 2022, enhanced by three titles in as many tournaments disputed, at the ATP 250 in Melbourne, at the Australian Open where he became the record holder for the number of Grand Slam titles (21 ahead of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer), then in Acapulco.
His program after the California event should continue in Europe with the start of the clay court season and Roland-Garros as the high point where he won 13 times.
© 2022 AFP