What is wrong with Rafael Nadal?

The most worrying aspect of Rafael Nadal and his recent loss to Fernando Verdasco in the third round of the Miami Masters is that it almost felt inevitable. At his best you could never count Nadal out, even if he was match points down there was always the expectation that he could recover.

That wasn’t the case against Verdasco and as the match reached the closing stages, Nadal’s game was disintegrating rather than improving. He produced a number of uncharacteristic errors, dumping second serves into the net as his opponent tried to close out the match.

It was a worrying performance for Nadal fans, who are being forced to endure one of the biggest dips in the 28 year old’s glittering career. The mental strength that often separated Nadal from the rest of the tour seems to be in awfully short supply.

His recent triumph in Buenos Aires has done little to paper over the cracks and the pressure is mounting heading into the clay court season. Having already fallen behind Andy Murray in the rankings after his exit in Miami, Nadal could face falling even further in the coming months.

The fears are that if he can’t make hay at some of the clay court events that he has dominated for the best part of a decade, then he will be seeded outside of the Big Four for the French Open. This could mean a quarter final meeting with Novak Djokovic, or even with Roger Federer, which fans are already penning as an inevitability.

Importance of Confidence

Nadal seemed ready to admit that his problems were based around mental deficiencies rather than any aspect oh his game and you have to admire him for being so open. It can’t be easy for a player whose reputation has been built on being a mental giant to concede a lack of confidence.

It is hardly surprising that he doesn’t fully believe in his game. He was dismantled at the first Grand Slam of the year in Australia and whilst at the time a lot of credit went to Tomas Berdych, who was being lauded for raising his level, it has since been clear Berdych hasn’t drastically improved, Nadal was just not at his best.

The loss to Milos Raonic in Indian Wells was also symptomatic of a player who is short on confidence and it is a situation we see a lot on the men’s tour, just not with Rafa. Miami could have been so different if Nadal had taken one of his match points and made it to the semi finals.

Part of his mental battle in closing out the match must have been the knowledge that he would face his biggest rival and adversary, Roger Federer, in the next round. Federer had been playing the aggressive brand of tennis that Nadal has struggled with in the past.

We have seen how ruthless Federer still is with a number of bagel sets against top tier opponents in recent months and Nadal would have hated more than anything to be on the receiving end of a thrashing from Federer. Maybe he is happy to wait for a meeting between the pair on clay to level the playing fields somewhat.

10th French Open Title

This turbulent start to 2015 can be easily erased from memory at Roland Garros at the end of May. Attention is already wandering toward the clay courts of Paris, as are imaginations. Every scenario is already being accounted for, which makes for entertaining reading.

Nadal fans have convinced themselves on a range of outcomes. He could draw Juan Martin del Potro and make a first round exit. He could face Federer in the quarters and be humiliated. On the other end of the broad spectrum, he could find his form and win the tournament without winning a set.

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