ABU DHABI // Opponents beware. Rafael Nadal has turned the page on 2015, his worst season on the Tour in 11 years, and is “feeling good” and “ready for action”.
In 2015, or at least in the first nine months of it, Nadal looked a shadow of his former self, a Samson shorn of his mane, struggling with his confidence.
Then, in September at the US Open, he hit rock bottom, losing to Fabio Fognini in the third round after winning the first two sets.
Never in his career had he lost from such a position, but he was quick to recover from the shock and turn the tide, and finish with a healthy 17-5 win-loss record for the post-US Open part of the season.
He reached two finals in that period – Beijing and Basel – and now has a title at the start of the season.
Looking like the warrior of old, Nadal defeated Milos Raonic 7-6, 6-3 at Zayed Sports City’s International Tennis Centre on Saturday night for his third Mubadala World Tennis Championship crown, the first since back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011.
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“It’s a great way to start the new season, winning against two of the best players in the world, without a doubt, and playing at the right level … a very good level of tennis,” said Nadal, who had defeated David Ferrer 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 in an engrossing semi-final duel on Friday.
“So I am happy for that and happy to win the title here in Abu Dhabi again.
“Last year was a tough year for me mentally, but when I was able to fix my mental problems, I started to play much better and I am feeling good now.
“I feel ready for action, ready for the competition. We will see if I am able to keep doing it for the rest of the season.”
If Nadal, and his fans, are seeking further proof of his resurgence, they should get it in the coming week in Doha, where he will officially open his 2016 campaign.
The tournament in the Qatar has attracted a star-studded field, which also includes world No 1 Novak Djokovic, No 6 Tomas Berdych and No 7 Ferrer.
Nadal is excited about getting back to competition and insisted 2015 has been consigned to the dustbin of history.
“I have talked enough about it all year,” he said when asked about his mental problems of 2015.
“That’s done now and now I want to talk about the competition, the new season.
“We don’t live in the past. I don’t talk about the titles I had won in 2013 or 2010.
“So I don’t want to talk about 2015 anymore.
“We are in 2016 now. We have talked enough about 2015 during the past year.
“Now, I want to talk about today and what’s going on.
“So we will see. I am playing well now and I am working to be better than what I was two months ago, three months ago, five months ago. I work to improve my level all the time.
“I don’t think about what happened three or five years ago.
“I think about what happened yesterday to improve today. That’s my philosophy and I work with that mentality.”
Still, Nadal has set himself a few goals and, not surprisingly, “staying healthy” and “being happy” is top of his wishlist for 2016.
“That’s the most important thing,” he said. “I think I am in a good moment and I want to keep going in that way.
“The main goal is trying to be competitive.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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