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It's no big secret that the Tennis Schedule has every Top player completely burnt out..even ROGER FEDERER admits to being "completely beat up". Rafa let's the ITF have it & they say blame the ATP. But seriously ITF why schedule a few days after a grand slam?I'm going to have to agree with Rafa on this one..Rafa is the true..no?
CORDOBA, Spain -- Rafael Nadal wants an immediate fix to an overcrowded tennis calendar or players may examine tougher options to force a change.
Nadal beat Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 on Friday to put Spain ahead of France 1-0 in the Davis Cup semifinals, the match coming only four days after the second-ranked Spaniard lost to Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open final.
Nadal has complained before about the overcrowded calendar. When asked if a strike would be possible, he said players may have to use "strong action" if necessary.
"We don't want to get there. We want to play. But if it's a fight about something that we think is fair, something would have to happen," Nadal said on Friday. "Sometimes the only way to make things happen is to choose strong action."
Nadal insisted an "evolution" in the calendar must be made or "we might get to a place where we might not want to be."
"They don't want to change anything," he said. "You can't always just think about the personal benefit. It seems as if those in charge aren't aware."
The Davis Cup quarterfinals are played the week after Wimbledon, and the semifinals are played the week following the U.S. Open.
Nadal has been a vocal critic, but the dates are also partly his doing.
Nadal was among 17 of the top 20 players who asked the International Tennis Federation, which organizes the Davis Cup, to alter the calendar in October 2006. The change was implemented at the start of the 2009 season.
In the letter, also signed by then-No. 1 Roger Federer and Andy Roddick, Nadal asked that Davis Cup play come in the week immediately following the Grand Slam events and not two weeks later, as originally scheduled.
Spain teammate David Ferrer, who won his match against Gilles Simon to put Spain 2-0 in front, said the majority of players agreed with Nadal's perspective.
"We're not machines, we are at the limits of our physical ability," the fifth-ranked Ferrer said. "No doubt something has to change."
CORDOBA, Spain : International Tennis Federation chief Francesco Ricci hit back at Rafael Nadal on Saturday, insisting the Spanish superstar was wrong to claim the gruelling tennis schedule was damaging players' welfare.
Nadal had even hinted at a players strike in protest at a calendar which required him to play Davis Cup just four days after losing in the US Open final in New York.
"I have the deepest respect for Nadal. He is a great champion and a sporting role model, but to accuse the Davis Cup of putting players' physical well-being at stake is incomprehensible," said Ricci.
"Why doesn't Nadal address his complaints to the ATP which controls 90 percent of the calendar when we control just a few weeks?
"And to say that the ITF turns a deaf ear, this really doesn't hold water. We have always listened to the players. For example, I have always said that a September date for the Davis Cup wasn't fair and that we wanted to change it."
Ricci also believes that the authorities have nothing to fear from Nadal's hint of strike action.
"We are always open to dialogue. I have talked to the president of the ATP who has asked me to address the ATP player council. We are in the process of finding solutions."
But the ITF chief added that his organisation will not be forced into making changes that they consider are not necessary.
"It is not acceptable to us to relax the Davis Cup calendar. The players already play less than two weeks of Davis Cup each year. We want to find more favourable dates, we are already putting all this on the table.
"We will see what solutions we can find."
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