After dealing with what was another injury plagued season, be it due to a bad back, knee and/or wrist, Rafael Nadal has arrived at the point in his career where he needs to decide what he wants to achieve over the final years on the ATP Tour. At the age of twenty-eight, Rafa is by no means old but everyone knew his style of play would keep him from playing well into his thirties.
While the notion of Nadal being unable to continue to play at such a high level has been making the rounds for the last number of years, the talented Spaniard will complete a decade of excellence in early 2015. His style of game will undoubtedly shave years off the backend of his career but it is also what has allowed him to morph into one of the greatest players the game of tennis has ever produced.
Simply put, one could not have happened without the other.
Having said all that, the time has come for Nadal to seriously consider shifting around his schedule to ensure he is giving himself the best opportunity possible to compete in the events that matter most…the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
His bad back likely cost him another Australian Open crown in 2014 and we have not seen him play a single match since falling in the Round of Sixteen at Wimbledon to Nick Kyrgios, in a match which Rafa looked nothing like his usual self. Not to down play the young Aussie’s upset win but it was clear the fourteen-time Grand Slam winner was hurting. His groundstrokes lacked any sort of real depth or power and his own court movement was badly lacking.
There is no question his back and knees had been causing him discomfort for much of the year but after watching him struggle to the degree he did at the All England Club, it was clear something else was up. We would have our answer after Nadal pulled out of both the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the Western and Southern Open due to a bad wrist, adding yet another ailment to his list of physical concerns.
2014 has certainly been tough for the former No.1 to stomach and in my mind, it could very well push towards seriously reconsidering what tournaments he will take part in during upcoming season. Barring some sort of setback during his current recovery, we will likely see Rafa return to the court somewhere during the Asian portion of the ATP calendar in late September or early October and closeout the year at the BNP Paribas Masters in France and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, England.
Once the year end event is in the books, the focus will shift back towards resting and preparing for Australia in January. However after that, all bets could be off. In a normal year, Rafa would generally not play again until Indian Wells and Miami but after winning the inaugural Rio Open in 2014, one would have to think he would probably return to defend his title but you never know.
While missing either one of Indian Wells or Miami would seem to be unlikely, as they are two of the most “prestigious” of all the Masters 1000 events, the fact they are both on hard courts could play a part in the decision. With the clay court season kicking into gear in mid-April, maybe skipping a pair of events that could ultimately save his body from going through some unnecessary punishment might not be such a bad idea. It would seem make perfect sense but not knowing the inner workings of the ATP Tour…perhaps it is easier said than done.
If he could make it happen, Nadal would play all of one tournament between the conclusion of the Aussie Open and the start of the clay court tour at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on April 13th. That would give the current No. 2 player in the world roughly ten weeks to recoup and prepare for not only Roland Garros but likely leave him in far better condition heading to England.
Also, let’s not forget just how hectic the clay court season is for the man from Majorca. Between the start of Monte-Carlo and the end of the Rome Open, Rafa will also play tournaments in Barcelona and Madrid. That would be four events in just over a month…with the French Open to follow all of a week later.
While they may be on his favourite surface, it is still a ton of tennis and something tells me the extra rest leading up to it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Like everyone else on tour, Nadal will be given time to recover between Wimbledon and the US Open, with stops in Canada and Cincinnati being the only ATP Masters 1000 events of the summer.
It could be that winning regular tour events and chasing the No. 1 ranking in the world will take a backseat on the list of priorities for Rafa Nadal in 2015. Again, at this stage of the game, all that really matters is to continue to keep adding to his current collection of fourteen Grand Slam Titles. If he can go out and accomplish that, anything else he manages to produce against the likes of a Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic would be an absolute bonus.
