Rafael Nadal pleased with how he ended the season
Rafael Nadal said he was pleased with how he ended the 2015 season despite not winning any title for the first time in his 11-year career.
“I feel very lucky about all the things that happened to me,” Nadal said, reports Tennis. “I still got 14 Grand Slams and an Olympic gold, so I did much more than I ever dreamt."
Nadal also talked about how he failed to grab the No. 1 spot in the Emirates ATP world rankings over the past few years due to injuries. The “King of Clay” used to regularly defeated players like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, but has failed to do so this season.
Nadal struggled mightily in the first half of this year, suffering second and third round exits at Wimbledon and the US Open. He also failed to show up strong performances at the Australian Open and the French Open, just reaching the quarterfinal round of both tournaments.
However, the 14-time Grand Slam winner was able to show a glimpse of his elite form at the China Open and Swiss Indoors, only to get defeated by Djokovic and Federer, respectively. Nadal also came close to ending the 2015 season with a major title after defeating all his opponents in the round-robin stage of the ATP World Tours in London before being eliminated by the Serb in the semifinals.
Nadal is set to start his 2016 campaign in Abu Dhabi at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. Nadal, who won the second and third edition of the tournament, said he feels he is in top shape again after suffering a season full of woes and setbacks.
“Coming to Abu Dhabi for the Mubadala World Tennis Championship is always special, it is the perfect preparation for me to get ready for a new season,” Nadal said, reports The National. “I feel in great shape so it should be [an] incredible experience for me, for the other players and of course for the fans coming out to support us.”
Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au, or let us know what you think below.