Nadal: I am pain-free for first time in 'year and half'

Nadal hasn't played a grass-court warm-up event ahead of Wimbledon, preferring instead to focus on alleviating his foot pain and then practising on the surface in Mallorca.

Rafael Nadal said Saturday that for the first time in 18 months he has defeated the crippling foot pain.

Rafael Nadal said on Saturday that for the first time in 18 months he has defeated the crippling foot pain which threatened to push him to the brink of retirement.

Nadal captured his 14th French Open and record-extending 22nd major earlier this month to put himself halfway to the first men's calendar Grand Slam since 1969.

However, in the aftermath of his Paris victory, he revealed that he had needed to have his left foot anaesthetised to keep competing.

He then underwent "pulsed radiofrequency stimulation", a treatment aimed at reducing nerve pain.

"I can walk normal most of the days, almost every single day. That's for me the main issue," said the 36-year-old Spaniard at Wimbledon on Saturday.

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"When I wake up, I don't have this pain that I was having for the last year and a half, so quite happy about that.

"And second thing, practising. Since the last two weeks, I didn't have one day of these terrible days that I can't move at all. The feeling and overall feelings are positive."

Nadal is a two-time champion at Wimbledon but his last title at the All England Club came 12 years ago.

This year he is seeded two which at least gives him the benefit of avoiding old rival and top seed Novak Djokovic until the final.

The Spaniard hasn't played a grass-court warm-up event, preferring instead to focus on alleviating his foot pain and then practising on the surface in Mallorca.

"In 2003 (his debut year), I never thought that I'd have a chance to win Wimbledon," he said.

"Today it's a different story. I had some success here."

Nadal missing old sparring partner Federer on Wimbledon return While Nadal returns to Wimbledon for the first time in three years, it will feel a little odd for the Spaniard who, for the first time at the All England Club, will not have sparring partner Roger Federer for company. Their epic rivalry includes three successive Wimbledon finals from 2006 -- the first two won by Federer and the last by Nadal in unforgettable fashion in 2008. Federer played in the juniors at Wimbledon in 1998 and has been back every year since, winning a record eight titles and establishing himself as the king of the lawns. But the 40-year-old will be absent this year as the 36-year-old Nadal seeks to continue his quest for the calendar year Grand Slam. Federer's absence because of a knee injury that has sidelined him for a year will leave Wimbledon a little empty. Nadal acknowledges that without the Swiss raising the bar, his own achievements might not have been possible. "I mean, we shared lot of important things together," second seed Nadal told reporters on Saturday. "It's difficult in some ways to think of tennis in the last 15, 20 years without thinking about the rivalry that we have. "I think in some way we push each other. I always wanted to think that my motivation never comes to me because of others, that it's a personal motivation. "But, of course, to have somebody like him, like a rival, that he's amazingly good, helps you to let you know the things that you have to do better." Federer has hinted at making a comeback after Wimbledon with an eye on the U.S. Open, which could allow Nadal to complete his collection against the Swiss great. "We've been playing in every big stadium, but not in New York, that's the only thing that bothers me a little bit, that we never played in New York," Nadal said. Nadal opens his quest for a third Wimbledon title against Argentine debutant Francisco Cerundolo. - REUTERS