Tennis News: David Ferrer and Juan Carlos Ferrero believe compatriot Rafael Nadal will return to top form in 2016
Rafael Nadal of Spain has a couple of supporters who believe he can return to the form of a World No. 1 player in tennis. Current active player David Ferrer and former pro Juan Carlos Ferrero, both also from Spain, think that Nadal can battle for Grand Slam titles next season.
"I am 100% sure Nadal will be fighting for Grand Slam titles next year,” Ferrer, who is currently ranked the World No.8, just one place off Nadal, in the ATP rankings, said of his compatriot via Tennis World.
Like Nadal, Ferrer has had a trying season as well in 2014 and 2015 dropping in the ATP rankings after previously spending time within the top five in the world in 2013.
Ferrero, who was a former World No. 1 and who had an illustrious tennis pro career from 1999 to 2012, agrees with Ferrer saying Nadal was simply off-form in recent years but expects him to comeback to being an elite player in the men’s singles competition of the ATP tour.
"I believe that he’s not playing like he did in the past and this causes him much anxiety, because he would like to come back to play as usual, but I’m sure that he will come back to play well,” Ferrero added in the same article.
Before Nadal ruled the clay courts at Roland Garros winning the French Open nine times from 2005 to 2014, there was another Spaniard in Ferrero, who won the majors title in France in 2003. Nadal is now ranked just No. 7 in the ATP rankings after a 52-17 win-loss record in the 2015 season.
While the Spaniard struggled for much of the year, Nadal performed well in his last two tournaments making the final of the 2015 China Open where he lost to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, 2-6 2-6 and the semifinal of the 2015 Shanghai Masters where he lost to Stan Wawrinka, 4-6 6-0 5-7.
Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au, or let us know what you think below.