Rafa, Pace Yourself!

I am glad to see Rafa Nadal back on the tour but, he has been on the mend due to a knee injury since Wimbledon of last year. But why is he playing singles and doubles two weeks in a row? He has only played 68 doubles tournaments in the last ten years and he is not likely to become a doubles specialist. Why put his knee through that kind of stress? Why not just ease into the swing of things? Is the Sao Paulo doubles title worth risking the chance for an 8th French Open title? There are four South American clay court events, then the North American spring hard court series starts. With Master's series events Indian Wells and Miami coming up in March. Why risk the knee with these major events coming up? I can see why he started back on clay, it is easier on the knees. Kent Carlsson from Sweden only played clay court events in 1988 after he had major knee surgery. In fact he had to ask for special permission from the tour to only play on clay. His knees got so bad that he played his last 32 events on clay in an effort to extend his career. Carlsson only lasted another two years before retiring for good. (If you have never seen footage of Kent Carlsson look him up on You Tube. He played with some extreme topspin!) Carlsson played a defensive, high energy style of tennis similar to Nadal. The tour needs Rafa, he needs to pace himself so the he extends his career as long as possible. I would suggest he skips the hart court series altogether and rest until Monte Carlo in April. Pace yourself Rafa, give us a chance to enjoy your brand of tennis for as long a possible!