Paris - Rafael Nadal struck a blow for tennis player rights Tuesday at the Paris Masters, with the second seed against declaring his distaste for the draconian"whereabouts" rule which has already seen two competitors banned for a year. The second seed Nadal will begin his campaign in the second round after a bye Wednesday facing compatriot Nicolas Almagro, who put out Swiss Marco Chiudinelli 6-2, 6-4.
"I am the first who wants a very clean sport, more than anyone, believe me," said the four-time French Open champion who has repeatedly said that a regulation requiring players to report their location for at least an hour per day every day of the year is well out of line.
"In my opinion, is not the right way. I would love to have a few changes. I think that's too much to say every day of your life where you are."
Failure to fulfill the conditions resulted last week in one-year suspensions for women's US Open semi-finalist Yanina Wickmayer and ATP player Xavier Malisse, who says the ban will likely end his once-promising career
The belgian pair were slapped down after missing three reports in a three-month period.
Nadal says there is no doubt as to where his sympathies are.
"I'm gonna be always with the player, I will have to defend the player," said the vice-president of the ATP Player Council headed by Roger Federer.
"I have confidence on my colleagues and other players - I always believe they are clean."
The WTA is already backing plans to lighten the reporting responsibility for athletes in competition, with officials from the drug watchdog World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) well-aware of their locations during tournament weeks.
Nadal said he is working hard at the end of a long and frustrating season, where he lost his Roland Garros title and spent months dealing with injuries.
"I know for this year it will be very difficult to win another title. But I have the chance in the Davis Cup final, and I'm gonna try to help my team to win the Davis Cup."
While Nadal is settled in as one of the six qualifiers for the upcoming eight-man season finale, the struggle continues among the seven men vying for the last two spots.
Russian Nikolay Davydenko moved into position for a place when he won his second-round match 6-2, 6-1 over German Benjamin Becker after a first-round bye.
Davydenko, the number seven, is next in the queue for one of the last two spots remaining in the eight-man World Tour Finals in London from November 22.
The winner of last month's Shanghai title needed just 78 minutes to advance over Becker, the third German to lose in two days at the Bercy arena.
Davydenko is trying to stay ahead of Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, with Swede Robin Soderling a distant ninth in the chase.
"I remember it's been like this before for me," said the Russian after his second-round win following a first-round bye. "But I always managed to get in.
"There are three guys who need to win the tournament, getting to the final is not enough.
"This match was good for me, I had a good feeling."
Sixth seed Davydenko, 29, lifted the Paris title in 2006 and could put a serious dent in Soderling's plans if the Swede beats Croatia's Ivo Karlovic to face Davydenko in the third round.
The world Top 10 except injured Andy Roddick are playing in Paris, the last event of the ATP regular season.
French qualifier David Guez beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4 while Juan Monaco of Argentina defeated Jeremy Chardy of France 7-6 (8-6), 7-5.
