Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal leaves the hospital after appendicitis surgery in Barcelona November 5, 2014. REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino
Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal leaves the hospital after appendicitis surgery in Barcelona November 5, 2014. Reuters

Former world number one and three-time French Open champion, Gustavo Kuerten, feels Rafael Nadal cannot be relegated to the background as he returns to the tennis scene at the end of the year. The Brazilian tennis sensation who was the only man who beat both Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi back-to-back at the ATP Tour Finals in Lisbon, was assertive that the Spaniard will come back stronger to the tennis court after nagging wrist injuries and a troublesome appendix sidelined him for much of 2014.

The 38-year-old legend has so much belief in the expertise of Nadal on the clay court that he even declares that the nine-time French Open champion will dominate the event even if he is 95 years old. The tennis legend who is also fondly called "Guga" admits that the heights of Nadal can only be propelled as far as his health allows him. With a cooperative body, Kuerten thinks Nadal will display the same form that allowed Nadal to turn 2013 around and capture the number one ranking once again. More so, Kuerten maintains that the forte of Nadal remains in the clay.

"I think even when he's 95 years old you won't be able to keep him down. He's like from another planet at Roland Garros," Kuerten said through IBN Live.

The 28-year-old Nadal will be using a series of minor tournaments at the end of the year in preparation for the first major in the first month of 2015, the Australian Open. He was last seen at Wimbledon where he succumbed to a shocking defeat to Nick Kyrgios, unbeknownst to many that at the time the King of Clay was battling several injuries.

Kuerten said that he could relate to the physical demands being wrestled by the current crop of tennis players as he himself experienced much more during his playing days. The former number 1 player recounted that the schedule in the late '90s to early 2000s was more grueling than today. Back then, they had to play nine Masters series, four majors, with the season lasting until the end of December. He named other players such as Marcelo Rios, Magnus Norman and Marat Safin who had to leave the game for good at the prime years of their lives due to an assortment of ailments. Kuerten retired in 2008 due to a troublesome back and played his last tournament in Roland Garros.