Novak Djokovic Says It’s Hard To Predict How Strong Rafael Nadal Can Come Back From Injury

Will Rafael Nadal be able to make a successful comeback from his injury-plagued season last year to contend in 2015? Top-ranked Serbian athlete Novak Djokovic has spoken his mind and shared his views about Nadal’s injury lay-off and how the Spaniard will fare as the 2015 tennis season progresses.

Speaking after his first-round match win against Canada’s Vasek Pospisil at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Djokovic said that it is hard to predict how Nadal can capture the spotlight this year. However, Djokovic asserted that Nadal is a “great competitor.”

“If he’s going to play as well as he did in previous years now in the clay court season or hard court, we don’t know,” Djokovic said. “We don’t know what tomorrow brings.”

Being away from the sport present overwhelming physical and psychological downsides, which are the reasons why some players find it difficult to make a significant comeback from injuries, most especially these players have taken time off the sport for a long time. Nadal, who is often regarded as one of the most disciplined players on tour, has made successful comebacks from injuries twice in 2010 and 2013 to surprise his fans and fellow tennis players but the beginning of this year’s tennis season had not been so kind to the Spaniard.

According to Djokovic, no one can really gauge how Nadal can stage his comeback in 2015. “It’s a bit unpredictable with Rafa because he’s such a strong player, and he has a very powerful game so he relies on his strength.”

Nadal suffered a shocking early exit in Doha in January. In the first grand slam tournament of the year at the Australian Open, Nadal, who was the 2014 runner-up, was ousted in the quarterfinals round. In his first claycourt tournament at the Rio Open where he holds the title, Nadal also suffered another quarterfinals loss. Nadal is currently playing in Buenos Aires. The Spaniard has booked another slot in the last eight against Federico Delbonis.

Meanwhile, Djokovic is set to clash with Tomas Berdych in the semifinals in Dubai. The Serbian is on his quest to win his fifth title, which he previously won in 2009-2011 and 2013. Djokovic only needed an hour or less to dispatch his previous opponents, Pospisil, Andrey Golubev and Marsel Ihan to reach the last four.

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