Rafael Nadal in towering form

Rafael Nadal of Spain

Rafael Nadal, who made a comeback in March this year after a 7-month injury lay-off has had a great comeback period. The Spaniard has won 8 titles since his return to the circuit and has had record victories in these title claims.

His titles after comeback this year include Brasil Open, Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Indian Wells Masters, Barcelona Open, Madrid Open, Rome Masters, The French Open and the recently captured Rogers Cup. Though he may have exited early in the first round in Wimbledon, but he never gave up and came back strong. In the post match conference after the loss, he had said, “It is only a tennis match. At the end, that’s life. There is much more important things. There is still a lot to go.”

He has had victories over almost all top level players this year- David Ferrer, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro, Berdych and many others. Apart from the 8 titles, he has achieved many other remarkable feats this year. These include:

• A record 8th French Open title. No player in the history of tennis has ever won the Grand Slam more than seven times in the Open Era.
• A record 8th Barcelona title, which is also a feat that stands alone for any ATP title.
• He has won a record 25 Masters 1000 titles, the highest by any ATP player.

Nadal may have had a lot of issues with his fitness, but he has regained his mammoth form and has started to dominate the ATP circuit again.

Nadal can also regain the world number 1 spot if he is able to add Cincinnati Open and US Open titles to his kitty, as unlike other players he has no points to defend.

The 27-year-old Spaniard has also had an unbeaten hard-court record. His hard-court form has been pretty upright, making him a top contender alongside Djokovic, Murray, del Potro and Federer to win the titles at US Open and Cinciatti. Nadal’s recent victory over Djokovic at the Rogers Cup is a clear indication of his top notch form on the hard-courts.

Nadal’s form has had a huge improvement after his early exit at Wimbledon last year. He has been climbing up in the rankings also and gaining his lost world number 1 spot, which could be just two titles away.

The Spaniard, when asked on a great run after injury and the Wimbledon loss, said : “Nothing is sure on that, in a sport like tennis, my feeling is – Everybody who says, ‘I find the perfect schedule,’ everybody’s lying.

“Because, in tennis, you don’t know if you will play one match, two, three, four or five in a tournament. You can lose in the first round,and the schedule is changing a lot.”

He says he is enjoying his time playing tennis and is having a joyful time out there in the courts. He said it’s exciting to see a huge number of spectators.

“When I come back, go outside every court around the world and watch the stadium full, big crowd supporting, is more and more special than before the injury happened.

“Because, before was completely normal to have every week. But after seven, eight months without enjoying that feeling, you come back and feel that, that gives you a lot of positive energy.

“Maybe absence makes the knee grow stronger.”