Upon return, Nadal focused on fitness, not winning


Winning usually is very important to Rafael Nadal. Not this week.

Nadal is entered in this week's Rogers Cup, where he is the defending champion. It will be his first action in two months due to tendinitis in both knees.

"(My) only goal is to train hard and play well here," he said Monday on rafaelnadal.com. "I know it will be almost impossible (to win)."

Nadal is seeded second in Montreal and has a bye into the second round. His first match is Wednesday vs. the winner of the Viktor Troiki-David Ferrer match, and he could meet Andy Roddick in the semifinals.

The Spaniard has not played since losing for the first time at the French Open, dropping a fourth-round match. He skipped Wimbledon and lost his top ranking to rival Roger Federer.

The 23-year-old Nadal intends to play in Montreal and Cincinnati before heading to the U.S. Open, the final Grand Slam of the year. He will be working with temporary coach Francis Roig until the U.S. Open.

With an early exit here, Nadal could fall to third in the rankings behind Andy Murray. He has a lead of 1,015 points over Murray but loses 800 points as last year's win at the Olympics comes off his one-year total next week.

"I have to keep working on court," he told his web site. "We will have to see in a few weeks what my condition is. I don't know how many weeks I'm going to need."

Despite his prolonged absence, Nadal is +350 to score his first U.S. Open title, the third choice behind Federer and Murray.