Novak Djokovic will once again meet his fans at the China Open as he comes to Beijing for the tournament. (Photo : REUTERS)
There's no denying Rafael Nadal's off-form mental game has kept himself a level below the surging Novak Djokovic, who has been virtually unstoppable so far this season. But tennis.com writer Steve Tincom isn't ready to write off the 9-time French Open title, saying Nadal is right where he wants to be at this point of the clay-court season.
Trying to bounce back from arguably the worst start of his legendary tennis career, the 28-year old Nadal is in the race against time to be in tip-top shape before he guns for his 10th crown on the red dirt of Paris roughly over a month from now.
Many fans and pundits alike are not convinced that Nadal's current form would get him past a red-hot Djokovic, the first ever player to win the first ATP Masters 1000 of the year. After all, Nadal is set to turn 29-year old this June and many great players before him tended to decline when they reached that age.
However, Tincom is still confident Nadal will exorcise his demons over the next few weeks and kick start his Rolland Garros campaign in full force. While he's not belittling Djokovic's body of work so far, the writer thinks Nadal isn't going to push the panic button anytime soon because he knows he's just peaking up at the right time.
"Yet if it's Djokovic's world, it's still Rafael Nadal's surface. As I wrote at the top, over the last four years Nadal has often found himself trailing Djokovic in the race to Roland Garros, yet he has ended up the winner there each time. That includes 2013, when Djokovic knocked Nadal off in straight sets in the Monte Carlo final only to have Rafa turn the tables in the semifinals at the French."
"If Djokovic is in pole position again, where does that leave Nadal? Is it possible that, as the chaser rather than the chased, he's right where he wants to be?"
Tincom sounds a little biased in glorifying Nadal's greatness on clay, but he has all the point here. Nadal would not be called the King of Clay for nothing.
The Mallorcan Bull insisted this nerve problem is something that he never faced before. Still, there's a feeling in the air that he will eventually overcome this and be the dominant player that shattered many hearts on the red dirt. Then again, Djokovic's threat to his throne is growing bigger than ever, and the pressure will be on Nadal to dispel both his challenger and critics one more time.
