Toni Nadal tells El Mundo that his nephew Rafael is getting too nervous when he faces Novak Djokovic, whom has beaten him all six times they have faced off this year. Toni, who coaches Nadal, said that he liked how Rafa performed at certain parts of Djokovic’s marathon four-set win over the Spaniard in the U.S. Open final. "What I saw at the end is that Rafael, despite the nerves that gripped him in the first two sets, had a good reaction in the third, went to fight and [try to] beat him. This gives me a certain hope."
Toni Nadal refused to say that Djokovic has become Nadal’s nemesis, like Nadal is with Roger Federer. He also said that Nadal really began to show nerves against the Serbian in their fourth match of the year in Rome, after Djokovic had handled him in Madrid.
"It is clear that there have been too many losses and it is true that Rafael has become nervous their recent matches and so far, there is the reality that Djokovic is playing superior to the rest….I hope it does not last forever. Rafael’s type of game has worked well against Djokovic and has been very spirited. We must return to make a change, not [in] his game, but of mentality and try to win again."
