Former tennis player Lionel Roux calls Rafael Nadal’s chances of staying in the top 10 “interesting.”
Since April 2005, Nadal has been a top-10 ATP player. He has spent 900 weeks in the men’s top 10, a record, and is now ranked second in the world.
He has lacking form recently, losing to Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur in the United Cup. The 36-year-old has never started a season with two straight losses. Roux doubted the player’s ability to remain at the top of the rankings after such a decline.
The former French player said the Spaniard’s recent form hiccup meant he might not remain in the top 10 for long.
We Love Tennis reported Roux as saying, “It’ll be intriguing to watch if Nadal stays in the top 10.”
The Frenchman urged the 22-time Grand Slam champion “skip the American tour” to survive the season.
“If he wants a full season, he should skip the American tour,” the 49-year-old said.
He also said he’s excited to watch Tommy Paul this season.
“He’s improving every year, and we should watch him in 2023,” said the former No. 48.
Rafael Nadal: “I need to keep battling”
Despite recent problems, Rafael Nadal hopes to turn things around. He’s optimistic about returning this season.
Nadal said he needs more game time to regain his form in a press conference after Spain’s victory against Australia on Monday (January 2).
“Six hours on court? I must practise. I like these conflicts. Last six months, approaching seven, he played few official matches. Yeah, this helps “saying
The 36-year-old said he’ll fight despite recent struggles.
“Victories speed things up, but I must keep battling. I played some nice tennis. Backhand and forehand play well, “Spaniard:
