Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal of Spain prepares to walk off court after losing his match against Dustin Brown of Germany at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, July 2, 2015. Reuters/Stefan Wermuth

Fourteen-time grand slam champion Pete Sampras said that Rafael Nadal experiences anxiety, which affects the Spanish tennis star’s game. However, Sampras believes that Nadal, who is also a 14-time major winner, will eventually return to his old winning form.

Sampras appeared for an exclusive interview in the latest episode of The Tennis Podcast where he shared his insights about how some of the top-ranked tennis players on tour will perform on the upcoming US Open. The 44-year-old thinks Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are going to be top contenders in New York, but Sampras had some tough words for Nadal’s chances at the US Open. The Spaniard won the US Open in 2010 and 2013.

“I think he is still working hard, he is doing all the right things, he is just not playing well,” Sampras said of Nadal. “It just seems like anxiety is creeping in, he seems a little bit nervous, he’s hitting a lot of short balls.”

Sampras added that players no longer “fear” Nadal as much. He said that Nadal has been in the tennis circuit for so long that the Spaniard may be feeling exhausted. Sampras said that Nadal has developed a negative outlook and when the 29-year-old loses in tournaments, the defeat reportedly gets to him, making him believe that he is no longer the player he once was. However, Sampras insisted that Nadal can recover and get back to the top.

Nadal, currently World No. 8, was the world’s top tennis player last summer after he claimed his ninth Roland Garros title. This season, Nadal has dropped to as low as World No. 10 after failing to defend his title at the Roland Garros. He has not won a major title this year. If he fails at the US Open, it will be the first time since 2004 for Nadal without a grand slam title. His three titles came from Association of Tennis Professionals, or ATP, 500 event (bet-at-home Open) and 250 events (Argentina Open and Mercedes Cup). He has not been able to reach the final of a hard court tournament in the last one and a half years.

Nadal is playing his second hardcourt event since losing to Kei Nishikori in straight sets on Friday 6-2 6-4 at the Rogers Cup. He has returned to Cincinnati for the Western & Southern Open, where he won the title in 2013. Seeded eighth, Nadal has advanced in the third round after beating unseeded Jeremy Chardy 6-3 6-4, who advanced after scoring straight-sets victory over wild card Rajeev Ram. Nadal extended his ATP head-to-head series against Chardy 2-0. Their last encounter took place two years ago in the semifinal of the 2013 Viña del Mar Clay where he won 6-2 6-2. Nadal will play fellow compatriot Feliciano Lopez in the next round.

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