Rafael Nadal admits he is unsure if he will return to his peak but is prepared to give it his very best shot.
The world No.2 spoke frankly about his future in the sport after suffering his second consecutive defeat at the ATP Finals where he was beaten in straight sets by Felix Auger-Aliassime. The loss comes two days after he also lost in straight sets to Taylor Fritz. Nadal, who has never won the season-ending event in his career, will not progress out of the group stages regardless of how he performs in his final match. This year is his 11th appearance at the ATP Finals but overall he has qualified for the event 17 times.
After winning back-to-back Grand Slam titles during the first six months of the 2022 season, Nadal has struggled in recent weeks. He is currently on a four-match losing streak and the last time he recorded a win was back in September at the US Open. He has spent time away from the Tour following the birth of his first child.
“I don’t think I forget how to play tennis, how to be strong enough mentally,” Nadal told reporters following his loss to Auger-Aliassime, who is coached by his uncle Toni.
“I just need to recover all these positive feelings and all this confidence and all this strong mentality that I need to be at the level that I want to be. And I don’t know if I am going to reach that level again. But what I don’t have any doubt about, that I’m going to die for it.”
The 36-year-old has won 38 out of 46 matches played so far this season, claiming a quartet of titles. Besides his triumphs at major events, he also won tournaments in Melbourne and Alcapulco. He has also achieved a winning 7-3 record against top-10 opposition with two of those losses occurring this week at the ATP Finals in Turin.
“What can I do to give myself positive chances to have a good season next year? As always, be humble enough to accept that I have a challenge in front [of me], that the last six months have been very difficult for me, and I need to work more and I need to recover things that I lost because I was not able to practise the proper way, I was not able to compete the proper way.” He continued.
“What I have to do now is come back, work hard, stay positive every single day, accept the challenge, accept that I am going to need to suffer a little bit more. If I will be ready to go through all this process, we are going to know in a couple of months if I have the determination going through that.”
Recently one of Nadal’s long-time rivals, Roger Federer, retired from the sport after spending more than two decades on the Tour. Federer is five years older than the Spaniard who admits he is finding it more challenging playing against the younger generation of players.
“It’s difficult comparing and fighting against the young guys that they are super good, and at the same time they are able to play as many tournaments as they want, no? Is normal they are in the situation I was, like, 15 years ago.” Said Nadal who is currently the oldest player in the world’s top 40.
Nadal’s last match of the season will take place on Thursday where he will lock horns with Casper Ruud. It will be only the second Tour meeting between the two after this year’s French Open final where Nadal dropped just six games in three sets played.
