Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal Play Grass-court Practice Session

The No1 and No3 seeds for Wimbledon give dress rehearsal for possible Wimbledon final
Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal played a practice session together at Wimbledon yesterday, prompting obvious suggestions that the brief knock could be a dress rehearsal for a grand slam final between the two on Center Court in the coming weeks.

Nadal, the world No1 and Wimbledon top seed, is returning to fitness after tendinitis in both knees forced him out of the Aegon tournament at Queen's Club last week. Murray, seeded three at Wimbledon, won the Queen's title but is still seeking his first major.

The two played for about 50 minutes on an outside court at Wimbledon's Aorangi Park practice center, drawing a small crowd, while the world No2 Roger Federer also practiced nearby. Nadal did not appear to suffer any ill effects from the session and will play two exhibition matches – against Lleyton Hewitt and Stanislas Wawrinka – at London's Hurlingham club today and tomorrow to test his injury further.

"It would be a good test for me to play there to see how the knee is doing and it would provide the perfect setting to get some practice before Wimbledon," Nadal told the Daily Star.

His uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, was more circumspect. "He's not bad, normal, not too good," Toni Nadal said in the Daily Express. "He'll play at Hurlingham and we will see how he is."

© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 6/17/2009
 
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