If Rafael Nadal fails to rejoin the ranks of men's tennis' Big Four, his self-doubt will not be to blame.
As the Spaniard, who's the No. 5 player in the world, gets ready for 2016, he says the big issue with his subpar 2015 -- by his standards, at least -- has disappeared, according to The National.
Rafael Says He's Not Changing His Style, Saying, 'I'm Not Federer'
"This year I have been more worried about myself than the opponents for a lot of matches," Nadal said at the World Tour Finals in London last month, referring to the 2015 season.
"Today, I feel free."
Win Over Stan Wawrinka Continues Rafael Nadal's 2015 Comeback
Nadal, who battled back, shoulder, wrist and appendix injuries with his normal knee problems in 2014, came back too worried about his health to start 2015. That started a vicious circle of timid play, leading to losses and an erosion of self-confidence, all of which fed on each other through the bulk of the year.
Nadal has been No. 1 for a total of 141 weeks, which ranks seventh on the all-time list, according to tennix-x.com. He was the No. 1 player in the world at the end of 2008, 2010 and 2013.
But in 2015, Nadal's 20 losses -- he had a 61-20 singles record -- were the most ever during his career, and he failed to reach the semifinals of any of the Grand Slam events for the first time since 2004. He had won at least one Grand Slam event every year from 2005-2014. He acknowledges injuries are affecting his career but is not dwelling on them or how they might affect his self-confidence.
"In 2012, I was playing great, I had a big chance of being No 1 in the world, but I got injured for seven months," Nadal said in an interview with the Times of India via The National. "In 2014 again, I was No 1 of the race, then I broke my wrist practicing in Mallorca ...
"So it's OK. I have missed much more important tournaments in my career compared to Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer because they didn't miss nothing during their careers."
"It's not right to feel unlucky," he continued. "I feel very lucky about all the things that happened to me. I still got 14 grand slams and an Olympic gold, so I did much more than I ever dreamed."
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