London: Despite two wins against two from the top-four, Rafael Nadal is still unsure whether he is approaching his very best as a player.
Nadal was cool and calculated in his 6-4, 6-1 win against World No. 2 Andy Murray on Wednesday, barely two days after a similarly emphatic 6-3, 6-2 win against World No. 4 Stan Wawrinka.
“I won two great matches against two top-four players, on an otherwise tough surface for me. Today, I am here. Tomorrow, I don’t know where I am going to be,” Nadal said.
Since 2009, the Spaniard has struggled with countless injuries. But that has not stopped him from sporadically adding to his collection of trophies that currently stand at 14 Grand Slams — the same as Pete Sampras and just three away from Roger Federer.
Having been at the top of men’s tennis, Nadal is aware he has to hit the ground running more often and target consistency all along so as to challenge the elite four. “Andy is the No. 2 today. The ranking in tennis is fair. The ranking in tennis is the result over a long period of time. So if you are on the injury list, then the ranking is not fair. But if you are able to compete the whole year, as I did, as Novak did, as Andy did, as Roger did, as Wawrinka did, then the ranking is fair. Djokovic deserves to be No. 1, Andy deserves to be No. 2, Roger deserves No. 3, Wawrinka No. 4, and me No. 5,” Nadal said.
“I don’t know how far I am from my best, but I have been winning matches against the No. 2 and No. 4 in straight sets. If we don’t know that I lost a lot this year and I played bad for a lot of moments this year, and we arrive here with a normal year playing well, probably we will be here talking that I am playing great and I am at my normal level, competing against the best players. But knowing what has happened during the whole year, I don’t know how far I am from my best,” he added.
The 28-year-old hoped he can stay healthy and happy so that his game flourishes. “This year I have been more worried about myself than the opponents for a lot of matches. That’s not enough. It’s impossible to compete at the highest level,” Nadal offered.
“Today I feel free. I feel I am enjoying on court. That doesn’t mean I am going to play well in every match. That means I am happy and I am going one day at a time. I am happy how things have gone during the last couple of weeks. I think it has been late in the year, but at the same time it is at least the right time I am trying to finish the year with that positive feeling. That helps to try to start next year in a better shape,” he added.
