Grass could cause problems for Nadal

Rafael Nadal believes he has little chance this year of fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming Wimbledon champion.

The 19-year-old Spaniard, who crowned a wonderful clay-court season by winning the French Open at Roland Garros last month, has played only once at Wimbledon - in 2003.

And Nadal admitted that his lack of experience on grass means it would be a real surprise if he were to claim the title in two weeks’ time.

“On clay I can win a lot of matches if I play my best tennis, but it is different on grass,” Nadal said.

“I have to improve, and at the moment I do not have the preparation to go far in a grass-court tournament.

“I have been practising with [Frenchman] Sebastien Grosjean [who reached the semi-finals here in 2003 and 2004] – and he beat me so badly.”

Nadal’s victory over Argentinian Mariano Puerta in the final in Paris was made possible by his victory over world number one and reigning Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in the last four.

But Nadal expects the Swiss player to have the upper hand if the pair meet at SW19.

He continued: “I can beat Roger on clay, and give him a good game on a hard court if I am at my best.

“But it is different on grass, where he is better than me. Players like Roger, Lleyton Hewitt and Tim Henman have reached a higher level than me on this surface.”

Nadal, the fourth seed, faces American Vince Spadea – who once defeated Britain’s Greg Rusedski here – in the first round.

He is realistic enough to know that he may not progress beyond round one – but he has kept alive his ambition of one day prevailing in the Wimbledon final.

“For a Spanish player to win the French Open is fantastic, because we are brought up on clay courts and that is what we know,” Nadal explained.

“But it would be unbelievable for a Spaniard to win Wimbledon – Manolo Santana is the only man to have done so.

“I have always wanted to win Wimbledon. It is such a special tournament.”