Nadal eyes Dubai return

/ Editor / 13 February 2007 / Leave a Comment

Rafael Nadal has targeted a return to action at the Dubai Open on February 26 after pulling out of the Open 13 tournament in Marseille.

The 20-year-old came through an epic fourth-round clash with Britain's Andy Murray at the Australian Open but then succumbed meekly to eventual finalist Fernando Gonzalez in the quarter-final and picked up a slight leg injury in the process.

He was due to line up with the likes of Nikolay Davydenko, Ivan Ljubicic and Richard Gasquet in France but has opted to miss the event to concentrate of recovering full fitness for the long season ahead.

Despite missing the latest European event and Spain's Davis Cup victory over Switzerland at the weekend, the world number two was quick to point out that his injury is not serious and he will be back sooner rather than later.

"This is not a bad injury but it's located in bad place," he said. "An MRI scan showed I had a tiny tear. It's not very serious but the doctors advised me to take a few days of rest.

"I'm going to rest and come back slowly. According to the doctors, I should be ready for Dubai."

In Nadal's absence, Ljubicic is the current 5.8 favourite to claim the title with Marcos Baghdatis trading at 6.6 and Davydenko available at 7.

Gasquet will be hoping to benefit from home support and is on offer at 8, while Lleyton Hewitt trades at 7.2.