Rafael Nadal In The Firing Line For Playing In Madrid

After doctors in Barcelonadiscovered that Rafael Nadal had chronic Tendinitis in both knees Rafa's decision to play in Madrid was questioned                                                                        Why would he play a lesser tournament in Madrid when the French Open and Wimbledon were just around the corner? was a frequently asked question over the last week . was it maybe that he wanted to play in front of his countrymen ? without asking Rafa himself we might never know and that maybe the case and if so is that such a terrible thing ?

      Another question that has come up is what if Rafa hadn't played these tournaments would he have won the French Open ? and would he be defending his title at Queens Club in London ? the likely answer to that question is yes but that being the case should the press keep hounding him over something he can't take back ?. My personal answer to that question is no, because while they are  questioning Rafa other players are playing   tournaments through injury or in some cases exhaustion or fatigue, and he could be regretting it now as he lies in hospital in Barcelona in pain and having to forfeithis title in Queens in order to rest and have treatment on his knees and the added possibility of having  to miss Wimbledon the tournament he most wants to win and dreams of winning. Missing Wimbledon in its self would almost certainly have a mental affect on Rafa as he rarely ever misses a Slam and has done so on only one other occasion . It was Wimbledon in 2004 Rafa having to pull out due to a hairline fracture to his left ankle. Rafa himself admitted to Times On line that he hated missing out on playing at Wimbledon as he had already experiencedwhat it was like to play at Wimbledon the year before when he made his debut at the young age of 17, getting to the second round before losing. Not what he would have wanted but Rafa would soon realise that there would be more chances to win the Slam in the future. Then comes 5th July 2008 the day that Rafa final brought down Roger Federer on Centre Court in a match that Pat Cash reckoned to be the greatest tennis match ever played and that was that Rafa was finally crowned King after a devastating loss in 5 sets in 2007 to make it third time lucky against Federer and for their rivalry to bring yet another nail biting match to the courts of Wimbledon.