Rafael Nadal: 'Despite percentages, I'm still better on clay than on hard'

Rafa became the only player with 16 consecutive seasons with at least one ATP title, conquering two Majors and standing on 19 ahead of 2020, just one behind Roger Federer. Nadal also grabbed two Masters 1000 crowns in Rome and Montreal, staying ahead of Novak Djokovic with 35 trophies at that level.

His 12th Roland Garros crown was also the record-breaking one, making him the only player in history with that many titles at the single Major, reigning supreme in Paris in the last 15 years. After that tough loss to Novak Djokovic in the final in Melbourne, Rafa had to deal with injuries in Acapulco and Indian Wells, withdrawing from Miami and hoping for a better run on beloved clay.

Instead of that, Fabio Fognini, Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas halted him in the semi-final in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid, leaving Rafa with no room for errors in Rome and Roland Garros. There, he was back at his best, claiming titles and 3000 points that kept him in the ATP Race with Djokovic.

For the second year in a row, Nadal was the semi-finalist at Wimbledon, losing to Roger Federer in four sets and bouncing back in Montreal and the US Open for some hard-court magic and another pair of big titles on his tally.

Becoming the ATP Race leader again, Rafa had to skip Shanghai Masters and made a return in Paris, desperate to earn points and stay ahead of Novak. An injury forced the Spaniard to withdraw before the semi-final clash with Denis Shapovalov, traveling to the ATP Finals with 640 points advantage over Djokovic who conquered the crown in Paris.

"No, no, I am stronger on clay. The stats are what they are, but it was easier to win a lot on hard after winning Rome and Roland Garros. I also had to withdraw before my semi-final from Indian Wells, against Roger (Federer), and before that of Bercy, against (Denis) Shapovalov. I could have lost two more matches, which would have changed the success rates. And then we can also say that my percentage on earth could have been better this year. But I arrived in this period in a not simple state, after a hand injury in Acapulco and a knee injury in Indian Wells ... It was too little to attack the clay’s season. But to sum up my way of seeing surfaces: if I'm at my maximum level, I think I have more options to win on clay than on hard."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2SztLum