Even though the Spanish No. 1 is coming off of a difficult injury-ridden season, which saw him fall to No. 9 in the rankings, he still believes he has at least 3 more years in the tank. Nadal’s 2016 season had its ups and downs, but more of the latter. The Spaniard took the title in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, but his biggest success was definitely getting the gold medal in men’s doubles at the Rio 2016 Olympics, partnering Marc Lopez. The downs were far more jarring. Nadal started off the season with a 1-6 2-6 loss to Djokovic in Doha finals, which only led up to his first round exit at the Australian Open. He suffered some more, with losses to Djokovic and Murray. At Roland Garros, Nadal seemed to get his groove back as he flew through the first two rounds losing only 9 games. However, he was forced to withdraw before his Round of 32 clash with Marcel Granollers. It would only get worse for Nadal, as he missed out on Wimbledon, exited early at US Open and ended his season with a second round loss to Troicki in Shanghai.
“My idea is to stay here for a few more years and I feel enough motivation to be here. I believe that I can compete for important things in the next three years,” said Nadal in Abu Dhabi.
Nadal can definitely pick up a lot of points throughout the year, especially at the grand slams. He might not get his 10th Roland Garros this year, but he can definitely add points to his 3rd round run from 2016. Add to that solid results at Australian Open and other grand slams, and Nadal could be back to Top 5 sooner than one would think.
“I feel healthy and that’s the most important thing. I feel that my knees are not suffering now and hopefully it will keep going like this,” he told The National newspaper
