Rafael Nadal has been out of tennis for months and was in action at the VTR Open in Vina del Mar Chile on Wednesday, beating Czech second seeds Frantisek Cermak and Lukas Dlouhy 6-3 6-2 in doubles.
The Spanish star and Grand Slam champion has been out of action for eight months since last year's Wimbeldon with knee problems. Nadal is finally healthy enough to play, although he said he still feels pain in his knee.
"After spending more than six months without competing, I'm not thinking about become No. 1," Nadal said at a news conference, according to ESPN.com. "It's something that even when I'm in good shape and starting the year, I don't plan, so I'm not going to plan it now. My objective now is to go week by week and do the best I can in every game I play."
Nadal is playing his first-ever tournament in Chile and he will be competing for the first time out of the top four ATP rankings since 2005.
''For the tournament, Nadal being here is unbelievable,'' said German player Dustin Brown. ''And it's great for the players, as long as you don't have to play Nadal.''
Nadal dropped down after the Australian Open, which he was forced to miss due to a stomach virus (which came after his knee problems). Fellow Spanish star David Ferrer moved up to number four in the rankings, with Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic ahead of him. Nadal is now number five.
The 26-year-old Spaniard has a lot of pressure on him to do well in the event, since he has been out of action for so long. The seven-time French Open champion hopes to be in top form when the tennis season returns to Paris and he looked good in practice on Sunday, working for two hours Sunday on the main stadium court with fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar and his coach uncle Toni.
Nadal has made some changes to his game since getting injured, including playing with a new racket. He previously used the Babolat Aero Pro Drive since he was 12 years old, but now will be switching to a newer Babolat model. Nadal and his coach hope to use it to get more topspin.
"Uncle Toni put pressure on Rafa to change. If you want to be better, you have to take risks," Eric Babolat, the owner of the firm that makes the racket Nadal told DPA.
"I don't agree with what you're saying, but I'll give it a try," Babolat said Nadal usually tells his uncle-coach.
According to the Frenchman, the new racket and new strings give "more power and more control" to the Spaniard's shots.
"More top spin, he already has a lot of that but he wants more," said Babolat.
Nadal hopes to get more topspin and he hopes ot be at top form, but he told reporters that expectations shouldn't be too high--yet at least.
"It's been months -- seven months -- since I've competed," Nadal said. "This will be my first time playing in a very long time. Anything can happen. I'll try not to let it happen, but you have to be prepared for everything and be patient."
Nadal's first match since losing to 100-ranked Lukas Rosol in the second round of Wimbledon will come on Wednesday a doubles match with Juan Monaco before he plays his opening match Wednesday in singles.
"I'm here to give the best I have right now," Nadal said, "and hope the knee holds up."
Nadal originally was scheduled to appear towards the end of December on the court, then delayed things until an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi. After missing that tournament, Nadal then planned on playing in the Australian Open, but pulled out after getting a stomach virus. Nadal played in the Australian Open finals last year in a five-plus hour match against champion Novak Djokovic.
Nadal last played in June at Wimbledon, where he was upset by 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic in the second round, losing 7-6 (9), 4-6, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6 for his earliest exit from the tournament since 2005.
"My knee is much better and the rehabilitation process has gone well as predicted by the doctors, but this virus didn't allow me to practice this past week and therefore I am sorry to announce that I will not play in Doha and the Australian Open, as we had initially scheduled," Nadal said.
The knee injury kept Nadal from defending his Olympic singles gold medal from Beijing in 2008 after he was forced to pull out of the London Olympics, where he was set to be Spain's flag-bearer. He also missed the U.S. Open as well as Spain's Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic. Without Nadal, Spain was unable to defend its title and lost the Cup.
Nadal previously said that rankings are less of a worry as his career goes on.
"At this point of my career (the ranking) is not the most important thing," Nadal, told Efe, according to ESPN.com. "Now the most important thing is to make a good recovery and right now my knee is not ready to compete in a Grand Slam; I'm going to try to recover as soon as possible to come back feeling strong, sure that I can compete and train the best that I know how."