Nadal dismisses gamesmanship claim

Rafael Nadal went on the attack to defend himself over accusations that he bent the rules during his third-round win over Germany's Philipp Petzschner.

The world number one gained a 6-4 4-6 6-7 (5/7) 6-2 6-3 victory over the 33rd seed to set up a fourth-round clash on Monday with Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu but the win was not without controversy as Nadal received an official warning from umpire Cedric Mourier.

Mourier believed Nadal was receiving tips from his coach and uncle Toni Nadal, who was in the players' box, but Nadal said: "Toni wasn't giving me any tip, he was only supporting me."

Nadal, whose knee injury flared up again during the match, now intends to take up the matter with Championships referee Andrew Jarrett.

"Sometimes in the past Toni would talk - maybe too much - and the referee or the umpire would give me advice and, if it continued, a warning, but he didn't talk too much this time in my opinion," added the Spaniard. "I told him (the umpire) we're going to talk to the supervisor and we will be doing."

Petzschner, who produced some inspired tennis to lead by two sets to one before tiring, denied any suggestion that he had complained about coaching and sprang to the defence of his conqueror.

"I just heard words but it could have been 'vamos' (let's go) or whatever," Petzschner said. "It's tough to hear if you're down on the court because the whole arena is pretty loud. I don't know why he gave the warning or if it was coaching or not. I have absolutely no idea. I think there was no coaching involved."

Nadal, who also had to win a five-setter against Robin Haase in the last round, hopes his knee problem will not prevent him making further progress at SW19.

"I am a little bit scared about the knee," he admitted. "I had treatment after Monte Carlo and I had the problem against Roddick in the semi-finals of Miami.

"I don't like to say anything because, when you lose, it always looks like an excuse. I am here to try my best and to try to keep in the tournament and playing well. I am not thinking about retiring or anything like this. That's not going to happen."