Nadal asks for court, sked change

RelatedNadal bests Federer in thriller THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MELBOURNE, Australia -- A day after winning his first Grand Slam on hard courts, Rafael Nadal called on tennis officials to be mindful of the physical toll the hard surface takes on players in an ever expanding schedule.

"This calendar I am playing with this surface -- hard court surface -- is tougher than grass or clay for the body, and all the time we are playing more on this surface," said Nadal, who beat Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 for his first Australian title Sunday.

"In my humble opinion, we have to change that a bit more," the Spaniard said. "I can say that because I won a grand slam on hard (courts)."

Nadal, 22, has previously won four Grand Slams on the French Open clay courts, as well as Wimbledon on grass courts last year.

"Before if I say that, a lot of people think 'He wants to change because he's a clay player'. But believe me, I don't think anything about if I am a clay court player or not.

"When I say this, I think about the best for the players and for the future. It's not possible to have a lot of injuries on tour like this. So we have to try to change something."

The Australian Open marked the first time Nadal reached the final of a major on hard courts, having been knocked out in the semifinals of the Australian and U.S. Opens last year.

Even this time, he had to struggle to make the last weekend at Melbourne. He held off a fellow Spanish left-hander Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals on Friday in five hours 14 minutes -- the longest match in the tournament's history.

"To play with this aggression and with this rhythm all the time from the 1st of January to 31st of December is impossible," he said.

Nadal said he was worried the rigours of the current ATP Tour schedule could hinder his quality of life after his tennis.

"I love football -- I can't play football right now because I am playing (tennis) -- but I would love to play football with my friends later when I finish," said Nadal, whose uncle Miguel Angel Nadal played for Barcelona and represented Spain.

"I would love to continue playing tennis and to do what I want," he added. "But if we continue to play this (many tournaments), later maybe it's going to be tough to practise sports."

.Nadal, who now needs a U.S. Open win to complete a rare career Grand Slam of all four major titles, on Monday blamed exhaustion for his semifinals loss to Andy Murray at Flushing Meadows last year.

"Last year was tough at the U.S. Open," he said. "I arrived playing well, winning Olympics, winning Toronto, having semifinals in Cincinnati. So I was playing a high level of tennis.

"But I felt during the tournament it was going to be almost impossible to win the title because I feel too tired. Mentally and physically, I wasn't there. The semifinals especially, against Murray, I really can't move."

.He said his next goal is Davis Cup.

"My objective is the Davis Cup, which I wasn't able to play last year. To win it is my dream this year," Nadal told Spanish reporters from Melbourne on Monday, a day after his 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 victory.

.A knee injury sidelined Nadal for Spain's 3-1 victory over Argentina in November's Davis Cup final. It was Spain's third Davis Cup title in eight years.

Nadal, who was a member of Spain's 2004 winning team, hasn't yet committed to playing in Spain's first-round match against Serbia from March 6-8 at Benidorm.

"It's a dream more than an objective," Nadal said of winning the Cup title. "There is no margin for slowing down now."