Rafael Nadal wants to get back to the ATP Top 5 rankings. His coach claims that the Spaniard is ready for anyone, except Novak Djokovic.
Nadal is currently at no. 9, moving up after the Hamburg tournament. He's banking on a strong US Open showing to close in on his rivals at the top.
Francisco Roig, second coach for Nadal, assessed his ward and said that Rafa is ready for anyone-except Novak Djokovic.
Roig explained that the early tournaments went bad, and Rafa lost his confidence. The coach understands that the dip is natural since Nadal has been "at the top of his game" for a long time. But his ward is now ready to make a final push and build on the victory at Hamburg.
As Roig spoke about the possible competitors, he mentioned something notable about the current World no.1:
"Thinking of points yes, we can say that Murray, Federer and Djokovic are not reachable at the moment, " Roig told Tennis Topic translated by Tennis World USA. "Focusing on the level, Novak Djokovic is a spot above everyone else, but I don't think he is better than the other years."
That seems like a fair assessment, and most tennis fans would say that this is just the Serbian's year. In the same way, Roig believes that this is not Nadal's year (so far) and he has yet to find "consistency."
"On a single match Rafael can beat anyone: Federer, Murray, Wawrinka... The rankings speak and they tell that Djokovic is on top, with a strong lead over the rest. I can say that in the United States this year Rafael will be able to compete against anyone, but Novak Djokovic."
It appears they are intimidated with Djokovic, which is rather a surprise. Nadal won the US Open in 2010 and 2013 and in both occasions, he won it by beating Djokovic himself.
Will history repeat itself? Or is Djokovic really at the top of his game-and everyone else's game , in 2015?