Rafael Nadal vows to eradicate his weaknesses in 2012 ATP season – Tennis News
After having a gloomy run in the 2011 ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) season, former world number one, Rafael Nadal, is very eager to have an impactful start at the next year’s professional circuit. The Spanish number one has aimed to do away with his weaknesses in the game, which led him down this year and hit the tennis courts in a more positive manner next season.
It is believed that the Spaniard’s game has become a bit too predictable in the last season, letting his opponents get the better of him on a number of occurrences. Although Nadal bagged three ATP championship titles this year (which also includes the coveted Roland Garros event as well), it is still reckoned to be a below par performance as compared to his set high standards.
Nadal is well set to tighten up his screws for the Olympics next year and get back his vintage form to pocket s whole lot of titles. He thinks he needs to made radical changes in his game play to become less predictable to his opponents and surge back to this deprived spot of world number one in ATP rankings.
"With the years, you lose a bit of intensity. Intensity in your self-belief, concentration, being positive, believing things will go well — those are in the mind. With the years you lose that a bit," Nadal told a local newspaper. "My mind was good in the first half of the year, not perfect because I needed a bit more in the games against Djokovic. But it was fine. I have started to work, fight again but clearly I lacked a bit in my level of tennis. When you have it, your mind responds better."
The 25-year-old took part in 84 singles matches this year and stood victorious in 69 of them, suffering defeats on 15 occasions. His dominance over the game was viciously mutilated by the emergence of the current world number one, Novak Djokovic of Serbia. The 24-year-old Serb not only dethroned Nadal from his top spot in men’s rankings but also deprived him from winning championship titles in the finals of six tournaments.
Djokovic outplayed Nadal in four of the ATP Masters 1000 finals and two of the Grand Slam events, namely Wimbledon Championships and the US Open. The Spaniard aims to cut down his weaknesses in the coming season and his eyes are fixed upon the Wimbledon and the Olympics titles in the next ATP season.
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