Rafael Nadal said on Friday he would have liked to play at Queen’s but having grass courts to practice on in Mallorca had been a great help.

Nadal pulled out of this week’s Aegon Championship at Queen’s on medical advice after winning his historic 10th Roland Garros title in Paris.

“I didn’t play at Queen’s because I had a tough few months playing pretty much as many matches as possible, but, of course, I would have loved to play at Queens,” Nadal said.

“It was my objective and for me personally the fact I have the courts here is a great help. But, in my view of tennis, I think it would have been better to play at Queen’s.”

The clay court king said he was excited to play at Wimbledon after missing the tournament last year.
Nadal has been crowned Wimbledon champion twice, in 2008 and 2010.

“Always I will be with the motivation to play in one of the best tournaments of the world, without a doubt, so just excited to be back in Wimbledon after missing the tournament last year,” he said.

“I hope to have a good week of preparation in Wimbledon, the week before the tournament starts. I think it was a great help for me to have the courts here in Mallorca for this great event so, yes, it was a good help and I hope a slow preparation to Wimbledon is going to help.”