Rafael Nadal wants to defend his title in the 2014 US Open, but the Spanish tennis superstar remains doubtful for the highly anticipated Grand Slam event as he is still recovering from a wrist injury.
Nadal, who defeated top-ranked Novak Djokovic in last year's final, admitted in a recent interview that he is aching to get back in form, but he conceded that his participation will depend on how he will feel on Friday or Saturday.
"My dream is being there and I will work for it," Nadal said via Tennis World USA. "If it has healed I'll have to try and see how I feel when I train and Friday or at latest Saturday a decision will be made. Time is short and we'll have to wait and see if it is enough or not."
The 14-time Grand Slam champion, who sustained the injury during one of his training sessions, recently underwent several tests in Barcelona on Tuesday.
Angel Ruiz Cotorro, Nadal's doctor, was not too thrilled with the result of the examination, saying that the former world No. 1 will have to intensify his rehabilitation if he wants to make it into Flushing Meadows.
"The images showed what we expected to see. I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic, I'm realistic. Now begins the rehabilitation process and then see on the track," Cotorro said via Tennis X.
The 28-year-old superstar has not played since his fourth-round exit in the 2014 Wimbledon. He was supposed to defend his titles at the Masters 1000 event in Toronto and Cincinnati, but the wrist injury forced him to skip both events, which are also considered as tune-up tournaments for the 2014 US Open.
Nadal lost two titles without getting a chance to defend it, and he doesn't want that to happen in the US Open, which is scheduled to start on Aug. 25 in New York.
"I will propel myself if I will have to. If I will have to cut the healing time short I will," Nadal said. "It all depends on how painful the wrist will be after the cure. We all know that once a muscle isn't trained for a while it takes time to get back to full shape. When I take the bandage off I will try to hit and see if it will hurt or not."
