Rafael Nadal's confidence in his racquet also has run out, at least for the time being.
Tennis.com is reporting that the defending and nine-time French Open champion is scrapping the new tennis racket he wanted to use for the clay season in favor of his previous racket as he enters the Mutua Madrid Open this week.
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Nadal had hoped to get used to the new racket, a Babolat frame, which gave him more spin and power in his swings but less control. He received encouraging results, initially.
Nadal said he was pleased with his run to the championship match at the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
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But a loss to Fabio Fognini in Barcelona in April halted his positive outlook.
"I have decided to do it because I have played with it for many years, and I had only a few days to prepare with the new racket ahead of Monte Carlo," Nadal said. "There is nothing wrong with the other racket, it is perfectly fine and I just need more time to practice with it. I am conscious that I have less control."
Confidence - or lack of it - has been Nadal's theme for 2015. When he changed to the Babolat frame, USA TODAY Sports' For the Win suggested that the switch represented Nadal's shaky poise.
"Maybe the struggles Nadal was experiencing on the hard courts were even realer than we thought," For the Win reported. "To change rackets right before Nadal's most dominant time of year seems to speak to an insecurity that dozens of press conferences masquerading as shrink sessions couldn't uncover."
The problem with switching back during what is normally Nadal's most dominant time of the year is that he made the original switch for a reason. He must not have been satisfied with some aspect of his game. Now he is going to battle with a perceived weakness, which may further affect his confidence when he begins defense of the French Open in three weeks.
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