As the well known quote read “Competing or just for fun , whatever, simply enjoy and try your best” , Rafael Nadal is without a doubt pumped up and eyeing his favourite European Clay Court Season which kicks into gear next week in Monaco. It will come to no surprise to anyone that Nadal targets the clay court season as his best opportunity for silverware this year.
The Monte Carlo Masters is the start of the season which leads up to the French Open, the second grand slam of the year , which begins on 22nd May.
For the first time in three seasons, Rafa is entering the Clay Court Season free of injury with his eyes set on an unprecedented 10th French Open title. After returning from the knee injury this year in January, Nadal has already played in three finals losing all, which has clearly put forward the fact that he is coming up short in the decisive moments. Although he is yet to face the likes of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic who are ranked higher than him, Nadal has clearly indicated a massive turn around of performance with his impressive start to the year 2017.
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Nadal for the most part is losing points on unforced errors. While he has bagged the art of serving aces a lot, he is fallen behind on points won through the second serve. He should try to focus more on his strengths and grow them to another level altogether. On the flip side neutralizing the weaknesses is a matter of concern for him. But somebody of his caliber definitely knows how to get rid of it. Nadal knows how to answer his critics and he would be adamant to regain his crown as the ‘Undisputed King of Clay’ in the days to come.
The tennis world has witnessed some great storylines in 2017 – Federer winning his 18th grand slam after a wait of nearly five years; the Williams sisters squaring-off in a major final for the first time since Wimbledon 2009; Serena surpassing Steffi Graf’s haul of 22 grand slam titles. Nadal winning a 10th French Open, three years after winning his last, will keep the fairy-tale season going. No wonder Nadal targets the clay court season !
