Rafael Nadal to take a call on his US Open appearance on Tuesday

Rafael Nadal will look to defend his title at the US Open

Madrid, Aug 11 (IANS) Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal said he is working hard to be able to play in the US Open, although he admits doubts over his backhand may be decisive in keeping him from defending the title he won last year.

The World No.2 was forced to pull out of the Masters 1000 events at Toronto and Cincinnati as a result of a wrist injury and now his focus is on being able to step on the court in Flushing Meadows on Aug 25 for the last Grand Slam of the year. The reigning US Open Champion, Nadal injured his right wrist in training at the end of July and the injury means that the wrist has remained immobile in order to recover, something that Spaniard knows will badly affect his preparations.

"When you have a part of your body immobile for a while, your muscles become weaker and you need time to get back to your former condition," he said in an interview with Mallorca-based TV station, IB3.

"I am going to try as hard as possible to recover, but all I can do is wait for the news of when I can get back into training he said.

Nadal will have tests on his wrist on Tuesday and the result of these tests will determine in what shape he will travel to the US Open, if he travels at all.

"After the tests, I will know if I have improved or whether I have to wait a bit more. If the tests show I have improved, then I will have to try to see how much it hurts when I try and hit backhands," he explained.

"If I have the chance to compete, then obviously I am going to make an effort, but we have to realise that we only have a week and a half and that does not leave a lot of time and I can't play if I can't hit a backhand," he said.