Dubai: A former top tennis player has predicted a mighty opponent to World No 1 Roger Federer in the form of young Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

"Nadal has everything in his favour as a worthy challenger to Federer during 2006," Jakob Hlasek, one of the top players on the ATP Tour told Gulf News.

Hlasek was in the UAE for a couple of exhibition games against another tennis great, Cedric Pioline over the past two days. After playing at the Jumeirah Beach Club late on Monday, the duo was on court again at the opening of the Fujairah Country Club and Tennis Stadium on the outskirts of Fujairah last night.

Hlasek was the Swiss No 1 and Davis Cup captain when at the peak of his playing career.

And Stephane Oberer, a Davis Cup skipper himself, was responsible for moulding him into a great player where his highest career ranking was No 9 on the ATP Tour. "I feel Nadal has the potential to compete and beat Federer during 2006," Hlasek singled out.

"There are others as well like Andy Roddick and Marat Safin. But they will both have to reach their best to get the better of Federer," he added.

Yet another youngster who is capable of doing very well on the highly-competitive ATP Tour is Tomas Berdych.

"He can be a threat to any of the top players as he has been showing great promise," Hlasek noted.

However, given the capabilities, talent and potential, it can only be Nadal who can cause some Federer heart aches during the course of the season. "If everything goes on well for Nadal at the Australian Open, then I doubt he will have a bad season," smiled the Swiss.

"Even when he is playing his worst tennis Federer is capable of beating some top opponents. But for 2006, he better be careful? he will really have to be at his very best due to the emerging threats on the tour," Hlasek warned. "But one can still see Federer being better than the rest of the top players on the Tour," he added.

Though he no longer plays tennis, not even on the Seniors Tour, Hlasek snatches the odd opportunity to go back to his game. "Playing in exhibition matches like these helps me go back and connect with the sport," he said.