RAFAEL NADAL READY TO RECAPTURE BEST TENNIS FORM AT ROGERS CUP

Written by: Staff on 12th August 2015

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

RAFAEL NADAL READY TO RECAPTURE BEST TENNIS FORM AT ROGERS CUP

epa04781660 Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their quarterfinal match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 03 June 2015. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT |

Rafael Nadal can and will return to his previous best form, the 29-year-old’s part-time coach Francisco Roig said at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

“He can play his best tennis again. He lacks regularity and needs to improve some aspects of his game [such as] movement and foot speed but he’s able to do it,” said Roig, who coaches Nadal alongside the Spaniard’s uncle, Toni.

“He’s not worse these days due to a lack of strength, mobility or mental toughness. He can turn things around, be competitive and try to win Grand Slam trophies [which is] his ultimate goal,” Roig said of his charge, who has won 14 majors.

Roig added that Nadal hasn’t competed as “his former self” but described that as normal after such a long period of consistency. “Not being able to compete well has produced these ups and downs in 2015. He played well in some tournaments, but wasn’t able to keep the level up [and] I wouldn’t point out a single reason,” Roig said.

“Despite not being at his best, he’s the sixth player in the [Emirates ATP Race to London] after winning Hamburg,” said the 47-year-old Spaniard, adding that the title was important for Nadal’s confidence ahead of the US swing. “Winning in Hamburg was a must. If that tournament was weaker, he could have faced this US hard court season differently, maybe with less passion and more doubts,” said Roig.

Nadal, who begins his quest to win a fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Canada on Wednesday against Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky, is focusing on a few key points in training on hard courts, said Roig. These include serving better, being aggressive and stepping in to make returns with intensity.

Roig recounted Nadal’s path to a second US Open title in 2013 and admitted that at that time, the left-hander was more aggressive and better able to control the ball. “At full speed, hitting the ball like he did back in 2013, he was zoning with no mistakes, and this is something he lacks today. It will be difficult to play in the United Stated that well from the beginning as he did two years ago, but my goal is demonstrate to him that if he wants to win, if the desire is to beat the best players, that’s the way [to do it],” said Roig.

( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/montreal-2015-tuesday-nadal )

Topics: Atp World Tour, Montreal, Rafael Nadal, Rogers Cup, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

August 12, 2015 at 11:18 am

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