Rafael Nadal is fit enough to play for defending champion Spain in the Davis Cup tie against Serbia this weekend.
Captain Albert Costa said yesterday that the right leg injury that saw the top-ranked Nadal skip the Dubai Championships last month would not affect the Australian Open champion in the best-of-five series, which begins tomorrow.
Nadal teamed with Nicolas Almagro to offer opposition to likely doubles pair Feliciano Lopez and Tommy Robredo yesterday, showing no sign of the injury picked up in the Rotterdam final last month.
"Everybody's perfect. Nadal's 100 percent, everybody on the team is 100 percent healthy," Costa said after a two-hour team practice concluded in steady showers.
Costa did not reveal who the second singles player would be, although the 12th-ranked David Ferrer was expected to take that spot after practicing alone yesterday.
Spain, which beat Argentina in November's final for its third Davis Cup title in eight years, elected to play the tie against Serbia on a clay surface at the Terra Mitica amusement park, where a specially constructed 14,000-capacity outdoor court was undergoing finishing touches.
The weather hasn't cooperated, however, with a steady drizzle expected over the coming days before forecasted clearer weather for Saturday and Sunday.
"The rain isn't very good for the court, but we will give it a try and see what happens," Costa said.
Nadal, the four-time French Open champion, has only lost three times in his last 122 matches on clay. Serbia is led by Novak Djokovic, with the 47th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic as the likely No. 2 singles player.
"Rafa knows Djokovic is a great player, he's the No. 3 player in the world," Costa said. "Djokovic will do all he can, I have no doubt. Nadal can also lose sometimes, too."
Costa, a member of Spain's 2000 Davis Cup winning team, was looking forward to his first tie since replacing Emilio Sanchez Vicario following the victory over Argentina.
"Life is about learning. I'm really happy and excited going into this weekend," Costa said.