Don't expect a miraculous Rafael Nadal comeback in 2016, not after his latest assessment about the state of his game.
The Spaniard believes he is vastly improved from 2015. But when No. 1 Novak Djokovic's name comes up, Rafa sure sounds like Nadal, circa 2015.
Rafael Nadal's Coach: Spaniard Can Win Three Slams In 2016
"At this stage there are only two options: be frustrated and stop fighting or acknowledging that he is better than you and wait," Nadal said, according to tennisworldusa.org. "You wait, but it's not that you wait without doing anything. You work to have chances. If you try to have it, the chance arrives. And I need to be ready to take advantage of it. That's sport, for me it's like this."
After getting pelted 6-2, 6-1, in the finals of the Qatar Open, Nadal could be forgiven for such an assessment, but he also dropped in another comment that landed like a bombshell.
Rafael Nadal's Confidence Issues Are Gone
"I will wait for my moment," Nadal said. "Does my patience have a limit? I've 14 Slams, it's not that I have one or zero. There is no hurry to win."
Nadal once was lauded for his grind-it-out, never-say-day style in every match he played. He played all his matches as if they were his last. And now, there is no hurry to win? Actually, Nadal believes he's in a lot better place when it comes to competing against Djokovic than he ever was last year. His comments, however unusual for him, may be realistic.
"Last year I could not be in this situation and in this season I am ready to wait for my chances," Nadal surmised. "Then he can keep playing at this level for the whole year. If he plays like this, no one beats him. I don't think that he can lose a match the whole year if he plays like he did in the final. Usually, despite being good and having an incredible period, there is always a moment when you drop your level. And I will have to be ready to take advantage of any glimmer."
It sounds as if Nadal still needs a boost in confidence to believe he can beat Djokovic before it actually happens.
Djokovic confirmed that Nadal is not the same player that he was at the beginning of 2015, according to another tennisworldusa.org report.
"He is playing better than he did here last year and he continued on playing on the higher level ever since the U.S. Open and he's been saying that, and me, as his rival, I can confirm that he's striking the ball better."
But if Nadal is in no hurry to win, it may not matter.
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