Rafael Nadal - ATP update 2016 (Photo : Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal is still brimming with confidence heading into the 2016 French Open, despite losing to Novak Djokovic for the seventh straight time in the quarterfinal of Rome Masters. The Spaniard thinks his latest loss to the world's no.1 has given him more reasons to believe that he has closed the gap between him and Djokovic just in time for Roland Garros.
During a post-match interview after absorbing a 7-5, 7-6 loss to his long-time rival, the 29-year old Nadal provided an optimistic take on his performance in Rome despite failing to end his current losing streak against Djokovic - which now stands at seven matches.
The Spaniard stressed that he has gained so much from his latest showdown with arguably his fiercest rival, adding things could have swung to his favor had he converted several opportunities in the match.
"He played great. We played a beautiful match. I was a bit unlucky today. I had so many chances in the first set. But when somebody is winning as much as him for the past years, it's so important to. He hit great shots in important moments. That's it," Nadal said in the post-match interview via Tennis World.
Nadal, who recaptured the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open titles following a rough clay-court campaign last year, certainly has reasons to be happy with breakthrough he got this year on clay. Still, there's no doubt that winning his 10th French Open championship remains at the top of his priority.
Sure, the Bull of Manacor is peaking at the right time and that makes him in the thick of things as far as the French Open title is concerned. However, will his mini success on clay be enough to catapult him back to the top of the tennis hierarchy? Worse, the road to the title has become more crowded than ever with Andy Murray emerging as a legit contender as well.
There's lot of questions that still need to be answered with roughly a week left before the start of 2016 French Open. Questions only Nadal can answer when the right time comes.
