Martina Navratilova felt there was a change in Rafael Nadal before he lost to Novak Djokovic at the 2015 French Open.
The Spaniard was one of the most consistent players throughout his illustrious career, especially on clay.
From 2005 to 2014, Rafael Nadal had failed to win Roland Garros just once, as he established an unrivalled level of dominance at the Grand Slam.
But in 2015, Nadal was struggling by his usual standards and entered the clay court Slam perhaps more vulnerable than he had ever been in his career.
Martina Navratilova explains what she felt was different about Rafael Nadal at the 2015 French Open
For the first time in a decade, Nadal commenced a French Open title defence without having won a trophy prior to the tournament.
He finished runner-up at the Monte Carlo Masters, but the 38-year-old struggled during the other Masters events leading up to the 2015 French Open.
Nadal seemed to be suffering from a lack of confidence and he was unable to impose himself on his opponents. Martina Navratilova was asked about Nadal’s dip in form, and she mentioned multiple factors.
“I’m sure, feeling most vulnerable. And he’s looking most vulnerable. And that gives the other guys confidence when they play him,” Navratilova said a decade ago. “He seems to me a little bit less physically imposing.
“I don’t know if it’s just my imagination. Just doesn’t seem to be as muscular as he was five or six years ago. Maybe he trains differently, maybe because of his injuries he can’t train as hard as he used to, but not sure.
“Most of all I think it’s the other players are playing better and hitting a lot more top spin on the ball, hitting the ball harder, which does not give him the time to run around his backhand and dictate with the forearm, he has to kind of be more in the middle of the court.
“He can’t park himself on the right side of the court. And also by his own admission, he gets more nervous now. And when he does get more nervous, his forehand goes shorter.
“Even when he does get to hit the forehand, he doesn’t hit it as deep, with as much, with as much depth and maybe power.”
Navratliova’s comments about Nadal being vulnerable were correct, as he reached the French Open quarter-finals and played Novak Djokovic.
Unlike their other matches at the French Open, Nadal could not put Djokovic under any pressure and the Serbian punched on his opportunity.
He claimed a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 victory and defeated his rival at the French Open for the first time, which was only the second French Open loss of Nadal’s career.
Martina Navratilova did not write off Rafael Nadal off
Despite noticing some vulnerabilities in Nadal’s game, Navratilova did not write Nadal off for the rest of his career, and she was right not to.
“People tend to write people off too soon I think in my opinion,” the 18-time Grand Slam champion added.
“I mean, Roger Federer said himself, until Rafa loses at the French he still has to be a favorite. You can’t just throw out the last 10 years based on the last few months.”
Nadal withdrew midway through the 2016 French Open due to a wrist injury, but from 2017, he was back to his rampaging best.
Nadal won four successive Roland Garros titles from 2017 to 2020, before claiming his 14th and final title on the Parisian clay in 2022.
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