Golf and football: Nadal is all set to return to tennis (Feature)

By Sebastian Fest Mar 12, 2010, 4:08 GMT

Madrid/Indian Wells, US - Former world number one Rafael Nadal takes things smoothly as he gets ready to return to tennis.

He trains when the sun goes down, he enjoys his friendship with golfer Fred Couples and the company of his loved ones, and he generally prepares himself to return to the ATP tour, after one- month-and-a-half.

Indian Wells is, for the Spaniard who is currently ranked third, a small oasis of enjoyment amid daily concerns in an individual sport.

But nothing is perfect, and his Wednesday afternoon in California was disturbed by the defeat of his beloved Real Madrid: an early lead, a shot from Gonzalo Higuain that hit the post, a goal from Olympique Lyon and a Champions League exit in the round of 16, for the sixth year running.

Better to focus back on tennis, Nadal probably thought. He usually watches all Real Madrid matches, and those of other great clubs, and he is passionately interested in football wherever he happens to be, between one training session and the next.

Cristiano Ronaldo and his team-mates failed when few would have expected it. But Nadal can look on the brighter side of his life by remembering the fact that he contributed to making Shakira's song Gipsy a global success. Nadal starred in the music video for the hit, which went on to top the Billboard video charts.

'Rafa is in a very good mood, he's in fantastic spirits. He lacks (on-court) rhythm, of course, because it has been more than six weeks since he last played a tournament. But he is happy to return,' one member of his entourage told the German Press Agency dpa of Nadal's days in Indian Wells.

Of course, the jump from the crude European winter to the sweet Californian spring is enough to boost anyone's mood. And even more so if it is a matter of playing Indian Wells, a tournament where Nadal is the defending champion.

The Spaniard, 23, arrived in California late Monday, via Chicago. On Tuesday, in almost empty facilities, he trained for the first time with a view to definitely overcoming his troubles at the Australian Open, where he had to retire from his quarterfinals match against Andy Murray due to knee injury.

Golfing legend Couples, 50, was accompanying Nadal as he trained in the desert. It is no secret that the tennis star is ever more passionate about golf, and advice from Couples - who won the 1992 Masters in Augusta - is a luxury few would refuse.

Nadal and Couples have not yet played on the links at the most exclusive Madison Club in La Quinta, near the tournament grounds, this year. They already played there in 2009, after Couples contacted Nadal's entourage: the golfer, a tennis fan, wanted to meet the then- world-number-one.

'Couples lives here and he loves tennis. Rafa loves golf. It's logical that they get along,' a source close to Nadal said.

At Indian Wells, Nadal is accompanied by coach Francis Roig and by his inseparable physiotherapist Rafael Maymo, with his friend Tomeu Salva as sparring.

Nadal is set to play doubles in California alongside compatriot Marc Lopez. In singles, he is to make his debut Saturday, against the winner of the match between the Brazilian Thiago Alves and the German Rainer Schuettler.

By then, tennis will have come to dominate everything: golf, and above all the unrewarding football, will have to wait.