Josep García Vidal
07/08/2011 - Barcelona
07/08/2011 - Barcelona
Last Thursday, Rafa Nadal travelled to North America once more with the main objective of regaining his lost throne: the number one ranking in the ATP Tour. This objective seems nearly impossible given the amount of points he must defend the rest of the year, so the Spaniard would at least like to finally demonstrate to himself and to the world that he can beat his number one rival, Novak Djokovic. Nadal has lost many consecutive matches against the Serbian, most recently in the 2011 Wimbledon Final.
Nadal has been preparing himself for this objective, and after the defeat in London he decided to go back to his home in Mallorca to take a break from competition and rest his left ankle that had been giving him troubles earlier the season. Precisely because of this, he did not play for his country during the Davis Cup quarterfinals against the US in Austin, TX.
In Mallorca he was training under the supervision of his uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, with the aim of improving his serve, a key weapon for the hard court season.
In this North American tour, Nadal will play the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters Series 1000 and will finish off with his number one objective before finishing the year: Defending the US Open Championship title.
Recovering the number one ranking will be almost impossible for Nadal and he recognizes this. Now it’s a question of proving that he can beat Djokovic. The battle between these two great rivals is served.
Nadal has been preparing himself for this objective, and after the defeat in London he decided to go back to his home in Mallorca to take a break from competition and rest his left ankle that had been giving him troubles earlier the season. Precisely because of this, he did not play for his country during the Davis Cup quarterfinals against the US in Austin, TX.
In Mallorca he was training under the supervision of his uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, with the aim of improving his serve, a key weapon for the hard court season.
In this North American tour, Nadal will play the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters Series 1000 and will finish off with his number one objective before finishing the year: Defending the US Open Championship title.
Recovering the number one ranking will be almost impossible for Nadal and he recognizes this. Now it’s a question of proving that he can beat Djokovic. The battle between these two great rivals is served.
But it appears that this is when Nadal is at his best. Just when everyone has written him off and have given him the title of ¨the best runner up in the world¨, he is ready to prove that he still has game to lift the champions trophies, just like when he did at Roland Garros earlier this year.
Until now, the head-to-head between Nadal and Djokovic is 16-12 for the Spaniard. However, in the last five battles the Serbian has owned Nadal. It was back in the Masters Cup in London in 2010 when Nadal last beat Djokovic.
The battle is served. We are all expecting a Nadal-Djokovic in the US Open Final. Will he be able to beat Nole in 2011? We will soon find out.
If you would like to see the official head-to-head starts between Nadal and Djokovic, visit the following link:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-to-Head.aspx?pld=N409&old=D643
If you would like to see the official head-to-head starts between Nadal and Djokovic, visit the following link:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-to-Head.aspx?pld=N409&old=D643
Do you think Nadal can regain his ¨throne¨? Please leave us your comments.
Josep G
arcía Vidal
Master in Sports Management
MotivaGoal
josep.garcia@motivagoal.com
arcía Vidal Master in Sports Management
MotivaGoal
josep.garcia@motivagoal.com
