After months of agony on the tour, Rafael Nadal produced a milestone victory against Andy Murray at the ATP Finals in London.
Nadal’s comprehensive win over world No.2 is the highest-ranked player that he has beaten since the 2014 French Open when he defeated Novak Djokovic in the final. The breakthrough comes at the end of a troublesome year for the 14-time Grand Slam champion. This year is the first time that Nadal hasn’t reached the last four at any Grand Slam tournament since 2004. Troubles aside, Nadal was pleased will his performance against the British player.
“I’m just happy the way that I play today, happy with the way I was working”. Nadal said.
“It’s another step for me to be able to play at that level against such a great player, it is good news”.
Reflecting on one of the most challenging periods of his tennis career, the 29-year-old said that it was more to do with his mentality as supposed to his physical capabilities.
“I was worried about how to hit the ball and try not to miss more. Trying to hit the ball where I need to hit it to damage my opponent”. He confessed.
“This year I have been more worried about myself than the opponents for a lot of matches”.
Despite the bipolar season for Nadal, he is currently ranked 5th in the world. His back-to-back wins against two top 10 players in London has reminded the tour that he can complete with the best on the tour, an ability which Andy Murray also believes. Currently Nadal is 10,655 points behind world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the ATP Emirates rankings. Despite the recent good form, Nadal is still unsure about how well his current game measures up with the best in the world.
“I don’t know how near I am. I have been winning the matches against the No. 2 and the No. 4 in straight sets”. Nadal candidly said.
“I won two great matches against two players, top-four players, in a tough surface for me. Today I am here, but tomorrow I don’t know where I am going to be”.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the Spanish player, it’s evident that his confidence is growing. During his triumph over Andy Murray, Nadal won 11 out of 13 points at the net. The statistic is significant as the world No.5 admitted that he only plays at the net when he is confident. He said that he goes to the net more when he is hitting the ball well and has the ability to play aggressive.
Nadal’s final match in his group at this weeks ATP Finals will be against fellow countryman David Ferrer. It will be their 30th meeting with Nadal currently dominating the head-to-head 29-6.
