London: Former world number one Rafael Nadal is pleased with the way things are working out for him so far, with a resurgence in the next season in mind.
Nadal was at his near best late on Monday with a clinical 6-3, 6-2 win over French Open champion Stan Wawrinka, making him think about the promise of better days ahead.
“I think I played a solid match. I had a good week of practice here. I think I played the way that I wanted to play. I played aggressive. I played with not many mistakes. Just the thing I can do a little bit better is serving. For the moment I didn’t serve as good as I was doing in the previous days. But for the rest, all the shots worked well: backhand, forehand, good volleys, good smash, no missing the smashes today. So that’s good,” Nadal beamed after his win late on Monday.
Nadal was sleek and quick as he finished off the French Open champion in a little over one hour. “I am working well. I am happy the way that I am working, happy the way that I am competing the last two or three months. For me is important to keep going the same way. The dynamic is very positive. Every day for me now is an opportunity to enjoy on court, enjoy the competition, something that I have missed for months this year,” the Spaniard admitted.
“My goal is to just try my best in every single match and that’s what I am doing. I am feeling myself well on court and just enjoying the moment,” he added.
With Nadal slipping down a bit, the year has been dominated by Novak Djokovic who has gone on to win three of the four Grand Slams. But the Spaniard is in no hurry as he sets his sights on the start of the new year.
“I don’t know what’s going on next year. But for sure the end of the season helps. The way I am playing at the end of this season helps to try to start the next year with a different energy than what I started last year. It’s obvious that I am working hard. I really feel that if I am able to keep working the way that I am doing, keep competing the way that I am doing, I think that I am playing on the toughest surface for me to play (indoors) and in the worst part of the season,” he remarked.
“If I am able to play well here, I think that’s great news because that can be a good chance to start next year again with positive feelings. And as I said, that’s my main goal,” Nadal stressed.
