Nadal takes a breather (finally)
UltimaHora

The world number one's vacation has turned out to be just a brief parenthesis before getting back to work on court. Rafael Nadal plans to return to training next week, either on Monday or Tuesday, after having finished the 2010 season just a week ago.

His first serious challenger in the 2011 pre-season build-up will be his final opponent of 2010 - Roger Federer in the Masters Final in London - as the Mallorcan and the Swiss are to play against one another on 21 and 22 December in charity matches for their respective foundations. The world's two best players are to meet in Zurich on December 21 and again next day in the Caja Magica in Madrid.

Agenda

The ATP calendar allows no let up and the Manacori has been forced to curtail his rest period. Nadal, who took part in the homage paid to Carlos Moya at a gala in Palma last Wednesday and who has carried out several promotional commitments for his sponsors, is to begin his preparation for next season gradually as the long season which came to an end in London has taken a physical toll which means he must carefully dose his efforts in the first sessions of his pre-season activity. The world number one will take care of his physical toning without losing sight of his on-court preparation, which he plans to continue working on to ensure he can take on Federer successfully in those charity matches. He is to begin 2011 in Abu Dhabi and at the first ATP tournament of the year in Doha before he faces his first big challenge of the new season, the Australian Open, beginning January 17.

It should also be mentioned that Nadal has been nominated for the 26th annual United States Sports Academy award of 'Athlete of the Year', one of the most important in the US, and, in addition, for the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award, considered to be the Oscar of sport.