Rafael Nadal (Photo : Getty Images)
Todd Woodbridge believes Grigor Dimitrov and Rafael Nadal should take advantage of the remaining events of the Tour to end the year on a "good tale."
Woodbridge, a retired tennis player from Australia, urged Dimitrov and Nadal to profit from the remaining tournaments of the Tour to boost their confidence heading into the next season. The 45-year-old Australian, also a former doubles No. 1, insisted that this part of the year is a huge opportunity to get back on the winning track for Dimitrov and Nadal, who are both on a "comeback trail."
"From now through to the end of November there is a huge opportunity for guys who have had a poor year or are on the comeback trail - like Grigor Dimitrov or even Rafa Nadal - to get some wins in Asia and on the indoor circuit. Those wins will help to build their ranking and / or boost their confidence going into 2017," Woodbridge wrote on tennis blog site Tennis Smash.
There are still a handful of tournaments remaining before the season reach its conclusion, giving Dimitrov and Nadal enough opportunities to gain momentum for next year. After the Shanghai Rolex Masters, where both players are currently participating, the circuit heads back to Europe for the indoor events before concluding at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.
Nadal, who is coming off his first ATP World Tour doubles title at the China Open with compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta, is on the run to improve his chances of playing at the Tour finale in London next month. Nadal currently sits at seventh place in the Emirates ATP Race to London rankings, but is only a few points behind Dominic Thiem and Tomas Berdych, who holds the eighth and ninth place, respectively.
Nadal will also have a chance to finish strong this season when he competes at the Swiss Indoors in Basel before heading to the BNP Paribas Open in Paris. But with other top players like Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray also expected to compete at the said events, it won't be an easy road for the Mallorcan to achieve such task.
Meanwhile, Dimitrov is also scheduled to play in Basel and Paris once the 25-year-old Bulgarian finishes his stint in Shanghai. Dimitrov displayed strong showing at the China Open, but fell short in winning his first Masters title after getting defeated by world No. 2 Andy Murray in the final round. Before joining Nadal at the Swiss Indoors and BNP Paribas Open, Dimitrov will look to win his second title at the Stockholm Open in Sweden.
