Toni Nadal,
IN PHOTO: Toni Nadal, coach and uncle of Rafael Nadal of Spain, attends his men's singles final match against Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland at the Australian Open 2014 tennis tournament in Melbourne January 26, 2014. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

Rafael Nadal’s career seems to be on a decline and the former World No. 1 recently blamed his career slump to his lack of self-confidence on the tennis court. According to Rafa’s coach and uncle Toni Nadal, it is not a matter of mental issue. Instead, it is all about being “relaxed” when playing tournaments. The elder Nadal reckons that Rafa only needs to win to gain his confidence back.

Toni was speaking with Spanish media El Partido De Las 12 when he was asked about his thoughts on the current playing form of his protégé. Toni acknowledge that Rafa is going through a tough time, but he hopes that that 14-time grand slam champion will be able to get past this downturn in his career.

“He is training well, but on the court, he hasn’t the strength of mind that he had before, but I hope it comes back,” Toni said. “I think he needs a win to regain confidence.”

Toni said that he is hoping that things will get better when Rafa plays his next tournament in Monte Carlo. Rafa is an eight-time champion at the Monte Carlo Masters, having successfully defended the title for eight consecutive times from 2005 to 2012.

The biggest struggle that Rafa has been experiencing lately is losing matches against lower-ranked players, Toni claimed. He added that this is the first time that Rafa has gone through such dilemma. Rafa is 15-5 this season and those losses were against 164th-ranked Michael Berrer in Doha, eighth-ranked Tomas Berdych in Australia, 23rd-ranked Fabio Fognini in Rio, sixth-ranked Milos Raonic in Indian Wells, and just recently against 34th-ranked Fernando Verdasco in Miami.

Toni said that the younger Nadal must be able to play “aggressive” on the court to get over whatever mental issues he is having right now. The season is still young. If Rafa is unable to defend his title in Monte Carlo, he still has Barcelona and Madrid tournaments, which are played on his favourite surface.

Every player has had bad days at work or maybe even long periods when they feel that their spirits were dampened. Toni reckons now is not the right time for Rafa to give up tennis. He said that he sees his nephew playing until 31 years of age.

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