Despite his defeat against Novak Djokovic in the final of Beijing a week ago, there were many positive signs for Rafael Nadal, although it takes a lot of faith to believe that after a 6-2, 6-2 defeat. And that faith is precisely what many tennis fans have lost in Spain in this 2015, although surely a player with Nadal’s track record deserves to never be questioned.
Nadal has claimed time and time again that he’s working hard, that he knows what the remedy is and that he just needs to find that confidence that provides him with an untouchable aura. The aim was to be truly competitive in 2016 but on today’s evidence, he could be ready before.
Stan Wawrinka provides as much of a test as anybody on tour to calibrate how far along the recovery path Nadal is, and let’s not forget he beat Karlovic and Raonic in the previous rounds, two players he’s also struggled with in his golden years. But the Swiss player, who arguably possesses the heaviest groundstrokes on tour, couldn’t live with Nadal’s forehand from the back of the court and it was the Spaniard who was dictating play. Just to put the result into perspective, the last time they met, on Nadal’s favourite surface in Rome, Wawrinka looked two or three levels above the Spaniard in terms of ball striking and brushed past him 7-6, 6-2.
Tennis is all about the mind and believing you can beat anyone. Nadal snapped one taboo this week, which was to defeat a top ten player. He was on a five-match losing streak in that department and put it to an end by beating Raonic, and it’s those sorts of things that linger in a player’s head.
Talking to Spanish TV channel, Canal +, after the match, Nadal admitted: “I’ve grabbed a lot of important points for the ranking and to qualify for London. My overall feeling is that things are improving day by day and these last two weeks have been very positive. I’m playing well. I’m serving well and I’m giving away less of the court than previoulsy in the year. My forehand is slowly but surely coming back and I’m feeling quicker and more mobile”.
Nadal has always been as honest as anyone when it comes to assessing his game, and this positivity wasn’t present when he talked about his game earlier in the season. When he’s struggling he’ll admit it and when he feels he’s getting back to his former self he will also say it.
Perseverence, patience, hard work and a real demonstration of character are the qualities that Nadal has shown in 2015. It’s not easy to have been the best and see yourself losing to players you never lost to before, or to not be in the mix to win the big tournaments. And, above all, it’s difficult to keep the faith when everyone around you has lost it. Once again, in that department, Rafa has shown he has a blessed mind. One capable of keeping everything together when everyone is firing shots to dismantle you. Rafael Nadal is proof that you only need one person to believe in you: yourself.
