Rafael Nadal says he has lost confidence in his abilities this season. So has the French Open.
In the ultimate, "what have you done for me lately" message, the Grand Slam event in which Nadal has won five straight titles and nine of the last 10 has announced it will not grant Nadal a higher seed entering the 2015 event next month, tennis.com reported.
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Nadal currently is ranked No. 4 in the world but potentially could fall out of the top four if he fails to defend his points from winning last year's Madrid Open or fails to reach the finals in Rome, according to tennis.com.
That could put Nadal in danger of having to face Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or Andy Murray before the semifinals - if he makes it that far.
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Grand Slams have the flexibility of adjusting seedings away from world rankings, based on that player's past performance at the event. Wimbledon is the only event of the four slams that adjusts seeds on a regular basis, but if anyone ever qualified for a seeding adjustment, it's Rafa at Roland Garros.
The French Open, however, won't budge.
"We thought about it," the French Open's tournament director, Gilbert Ysern, told L'Equipe, tennis.com reported. "We could not not ask the question for a champion like him, who has embodied the tournament for 10 years and only once not won a match. But the circumstances are different."
In 2013, Nadal also entered the clay court season ranked out of the top four - because of an injury-plagued first half of the season - but his play elevated him back into the top four by the time the French Open start. The tournament declined to raise his ranking then.
This year, he does not even have injury as an excuse.
"In 2013, he came in injured. Today, it is his sporting level, it seems, which has fallen. He is not hampered. So, we will not adjust the seedings in his favor."
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