Rafa Nadal admitted to being a bit scared on his return to action at the China Open this week after sustaining two injuries in what has been a "difficult year" for the world number two.
The 23-year-old Spaniard has not played since his semi-final defeat to Juan Martin del Potro at last month's US Open and was cautious about his prospects at the venue where he won the men's singles Olympic gold in 2008.
"I hope I'm ready and I hope I'll be good but after a year like this, you are always a little bit scared," the Australian Open champion told reporters on Sunday.
"It was probably one of the more difficult years for me because I had the important injury of the knee and the abdominal injury at the US Open so it wasn't a lucky year for me," he added.
"The results are good and I'm happy being number two and having (won) three Masters (series events) and one grand slam but always when you are injured it is tough."
The abdominal injury came after Nadal had been forced to miss his Wimbledon title defence because of tendinitis in both of his knees.
Some commentators have said Nadal's aggressive style of play and the huge power he tries to put into every shot make him more prone to injury than other players.
AGGRESSIVE STYLE
The six-times grand slam winner dismissed the idea, saying that despite his relative youth he had already enjoyed a long career, having started on the ATP circuit at the age of 16.
"A lot of people can have a lot of opinions," he said. "I've had seven years on the tour already, I think that's a very long career already, no? Some players start at 21 and finish at 29, that's the same length of career."
Nadal argued that his consistently high ranking over the last half decade was witness to his generally good conditioning and said he could not change his swashbuckling style even if he wanted to.
"If you are not fit and your body is not ... in a good condition, it's impossible to spend five years in the top two," said the 2005 China Open champion.
"Yes, I have an aggressive style of game but I think no one can choose their style. Sure, I would like to serve like (Ivo) Karlovic and volley like (Roger) Federer but my game is another.
"I'm happy with my game, I have a very good career right now and ... it's impossible to say I'm going to change the style of the game."
