16-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal is hoping to play a few more tournaments in 2018 in order to hang on to his No. 1 ranking for as long as possible.
Nadal, who will be defending a lot of points in 2018 as he won a record extending 10th French Open and his third US Open title in 2017, feels he will have to make minor changes to his playing schedule depending on the results he achieves during the season.
The 31-year-old from Manacor also mentioned that his good friend and rival Roger Federer took a slight risk by playing a limited schedule in 2017 and thankfully it paid off. However, it will not be the case always and the Swiss could struggle to achieve the kind of success he achieved during the previous season.
Nadal said: “It’s not that I haven’t got anything decided, because I have a very clear idea already, but your calendar is decided by results. I played 18 tournaments in 2017, which isn’t a lot, but I won a lot of games. Can you play less? Yes. Is it logical to? No. Did it work incredibly well for Federer? Yes. Was that logical? No. The way he went about his season was good because for him it was the best way to do it, but it didn’t stand to reason because it shouldn’t have been.”
“It’s very easy to get yourself into a loop of lacking confidence when you play so little, but the fact is that Federer didn’t lose two consecutive matches. I don’t put that down to luck, because he was playing at an amazing level, but it’s a fine line. My calendar in 2017 was the right one for me, pretty much playing only the mandatory amount, except a tournament here or there picked for preparation. My idea for 2018 is similar and maybe I’ll play a couple more tournaments. That’s what I’m thinking, but it depends on results.”
