Nadal to test knee in Indian Wells

Originally published on: 05/03/13 00:00

Nadal made his comeback from a knee injury last month at the VTR Open in Chile, where he reached the final before picking up titles on the clay in Sao Paolo and Acapulco.

The Spaniard made his first appearance on a hard court in over 11 months on Monday, losing an exhibition match to Juan Martin Del Potro in New York's Madison Square Garden.

Reports circulated last week that Nadal was set to swerve the hard-court events in Indian Wells and Miami and he would instead stick to the clay in the run-up to the French Open in May.

However, the 11-time Grand Slam champion has confirmed he will put his knees to the test on the hard courts in California.

"Today I know I can play on clay. I will try next week on the hard," Nadal said. "Playing tennis will be a process to adapt my knee to the competition.

"I hope I will keep having the chances to play the normal calendar as I did in past years. I cannot predict the future. I have to see how the knee will last at Indian Wells next week. Having the chance to play at Indian Wells is great. I didn't know one week ago if I would be able to play at Indian Wells."

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