Nadal’s Ex-coach Says Djokovic The Man To Beat

Rafael Nadal’s former coach and uncle Toni Nadal says Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic is the favourite for next month’s US Open. Djokovic beat Roger Federer in a tense five-setter at SW19 to claim his 16th Grand Slam title which leaves him just two behind Nadal and four off the great Swiss star.

The victory cemented Djokovic’s reputation as the best and most dominant player in the game right now, although he did not play Nadal on his way to victory on the grass. Attention now turns to the North American hard court swing and the final major of the year in New York in August. But Nadal’s chances of prevailing at Flushing Meadows have been played down by his uncle, who believes the current world number one is the man to beat.

“Today, I see Djokovic as favourite for the US Open because he’s won Wimbledon and the Australian Open [this year], but the three are very close,” he told Spanish publication Marca. “I said that [Rafa] Nadal would come close at Wimbledon because he won in Rome and Roland Garros, and was in a great place mentally. “He didn’t play his best tennis in the semi-finals, he wasn’t like he was on other days.”