Nadal knows work needed after poor showing

London : Former World No 1 Rafael Nadal was left pondering on the positives following a disastrous tournament at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals this week.

"Just work. That's what is needed of me as I head in for the new season," Nadal said after crashing to his third straight loss at the year-ending finale on Friday.

Though this year was his fifth straight appearance, Nadal started off with a loss to Robin Soderling and then crashed in straight sets to Nikolay Davydenko in his second match. Nadal then lost his third match to Novak Dkokovic on Friday.

"Anyway if you lose, you have to learn with the victories and the losses. And it's better with the victories than the losses. This tournament has given me different feelings and probably the opportunity to see what I have to do to play better so that I can start next year in a better way," Nadal said.

"I am not going to say that I will be better next year, but I see the way and what I have to do if I want to more competitive on these kinds of surfaces with such top players for the next year," he added.

Asked to pin-point the areas of improvement, the native of Mallorca was quick to point them out.

"I still need to work a little more on the serve and I need to be more aggressive especially on the forehand," Nadal said.

Injuries

The Spaniard, who is next week due for his country's defence of their Davis Cup title in Barcelona, has been plagued with injuries since the middle of the season.

These breaks and the injuries made the once-fierce competitor from Spain look a little blunt following his return to the court.