Stan Wawrinka may have dethroned Rafael Nadal as the new king of the clay, but the Spaniard is confident he will continue to be a major force in tennis.
Last week Rafael Nadal crashed out of the French Open in a straight sets quarterfinal defeat against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who was defeated by Wawrinka in Sunday’s final.
And after suffering only his second ever defeat at Roland Garros, and his first since 2009, nine-time French Open champion Nadal sank to his lowest position ranking since April 2005.
“When your opponent is better than you, you have to accept that,” the14-time grand slam champion, who has lost four matches on clay in a season for the first time since 2003, told a press conference Monday, referring to his defeat by Djokovic.
“Novak had been better than me and I have to work hard to improve my level of tennis, my level of intensity on court and if that happens I’m confident I can be back and compete at the highest level.”
Nadal admitted that he paid little attention to the final but he labeled as Wawrinka one of the fiercest competitors on tour.
“I didn’t watch the match, I was practicing,” he said. “I watched a few games.
“But obviously Wawrinka is a player that if you’re not able to let him play from the tough positions and if he’s playing well, I think he’s a player that hits the ball with more power on the tour.
“It’s tough to stop him, it’s tough to have the control of the match against him. I think Wawrinka is a player that can create winners from everywhere.
“When he’s playing well, he’s one of the best players in the world and he’s dangerous for everybody.”
