'Off court, we are good friends'

Dubai: Spanish sensation and defending champion at the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open, Rafael Nadal has predicted the downfall of Roger Federer.

"There is a whole pool of young players coming through and all of them are capable of displacing Federer at the top," Nadal told mediapersons a day before the start of the men's event.

At only 20, Nadal has shown maturity beyond his years to be one of the few players to defeat the otherwise invincible Federer. "There are youngsters like [Tomas] Berdych, [Richard] Gasquet, [Novak] Djokovic and [Marcos] Baghdatis - who are all capable of beating any of the top players," Nadal said.

"And he is going to have more rivals and players trying to take his place up there," the Spaniard stated.

Nadal also fancies his chances at climbing one step higher on the rankings. "I am happy to be the number two player for two years now. But I need to improve if I want to give myself a better chance and be at the top," Nadal said.

Knowing his drawbacks and weaknesses, Nadal stated that there are certain aspects of the game where he can do better. "I can work on my serve and volley or on my forehand winner or the backhand. There is scope left for improving," Nadal observed.

"I am always working hard to take my chance to get past Federer," said Nadal.

Nadal and Federer have played each other nine times and the Spaniard is currently ahead at 6-3. However, Federer has the psychological edge as he has won the last two times the two have clashed in one of the most engrossing rivalries in men's tennis today.

Three-set win

They faced each other six times last year alone, and it is Nadal who is ahead 4-2 - starting with his incredible three-set win in the final here.

But since then, Federer has got his revenge, waging a four-set battle against the gritty Spaniard at the Wimbledon final and then defeating him in straight sets at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.

"There have always been rivalries between players over the years. There was Connors versus Borg, Sampras versus Agassi and now it's between the two of us. But nothing has changed in my life and we are good friends off the court," Nadal smiled.