A productive off-season of practice has strengthened Rafael Nadal's self-belief. On New Year's Eve, the bull is ready to roll.
The world No. 5 says he's confident he will be "very competitive" in 2016.
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"I am happy for everything and excited about starting a new season. I feel ready and that I am doing the right things and am playing well," Nadal told The Gulf News. "The most important thing is to compete the way I am practicing. “I know if I can make that happen, I am confident I am going to be very competitive.”
Nadal will play his first match of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi tomorrow. He is a two-time champion at the exhibition event.
The 14-time Grand Slam champion aims to challenge world No. 1 Novak Djokovic for Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic dissected Nadal, 6-3, 6-3, rolling into his record-extending 15th consecutive final at the ATP World Tour Finals last month. It was Djokovic's eighth victory in his last nine meetings with Nadal as he leveled the most prolific ATP rivalry in Open Era history at 23-23.
"If he’s able to maintain that kind of level, you have to applaud him," Nadal said of Djokovic. "The rest of the players we work hard and I hope I can be competitive against all the players, including Novak."
Coming off a season in which he won just three titles and saw his streak of 10 straight years winning at least one Grand Slam title snapped, Nadal said he expects to lift his level of play.
"I am number five of the world. It seems like I am number 50 or something," Nadal said. "I didn’t have the best season possible, but without having the best season possible and playing rubbish five months of the season, to be able to finish number five is not bad news.
"I don’t expect an amazing comeback, I expect an improvement of my level of tennis and my level of competition. If I make that happen, I hope to be competitive."
Photo credit: Mubadala World Tennis Championship