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Nadal has been playing terribly lately, even an unknown took a set off him on clay, he will have Joker covered once he returns anywhere near to his regular higher standard.
Nadal not worried by Djokovic form
ROME: World number one Rafael Nadal has denied that he is concerned by the current winning form of his closest rival Novak Djokovic.
The world number two from Serbia has had an incredible start to the season, winning his first 33 matches in a row.
He has won all six tournaments he's played in including the Australian Open in January and three Masters Series, in which he beat Nadal in the final every time.
The most recent of those was last week, where Djokovic managed to beat Nadal on clay for the first time in his career in Madrid.
But the Spaniard says he's not worried.
"That's part of the game, I'm not worried about Novak. I probably arrived here (in Rome) a bit more nervous because I felt I played badly in the semi-finals and final in Madrid.
"I don't like to play badly. Novak is playing fantastically, he beat me three times but I don't know how many times I beat him in the past.
"I beat him in the US Open (final in 2010), I beat him in the Masters Cup (last year in the round robin stage), three times at Roland Garros (2006, 2007 and 2008), once in Rome (the 2009 final), Madrid two years ago (in the semi-final).
"Now he's playing well but in the past I played very well against him, I've won lots of titles (against him).
"I can't be nervous about Novak because I've won a lot of titles in my career, more than I ever dreamt I would.
"I'll keep fighting to try to find solutions to play better, I'll have more chances for sure.
"In Madrid I think I played badly. I want to play well and I want to do it my way.
"He's doing it his way, he's doing very well. I can only play against him in the final (here).
"I'm not more worried about Novak, I'm only worried if I'm not playing well.
"I'm doing my season and if one player is doing beter than me then I congratulate him."
Nadal still leads Djokovic 16-9 in their head-to-head meetings and 9-1 on clay but the Serbian has won the last three, all this year.
It remains to be seen how long Djokovic can keep up this winning run but Nadal doesn't expect it to affect him when it does come to an end.
"When you're winning you're less affected by a loss," he said.
"When I was winning everything and I lost, I felt it less. Novak will lose, I don't know if it will be tomorrow or in six months but tennis is like this.
"Some moments are fantastic, you feel confident, you feel unbeatable but things change.
"For him the big advantage is that he plays well on other surfaces (than clay) and another is that he's very good.
"He's playing well so all I can do is congratulate him. I'm happy with how I'm doing and we'll see what happens in the next weeks, the next months and the next years."
Nadal not worried by Djokovic form
ROME: World number one Rafael Nadal has denied that he is concerned by the current winning form of his closest rival Novak Djokovic.
The world number two from Serbia has had an incredible start to the season, winning his first 33 matches in a row.
He has won all six tournaments he's played in including the Australian Open in January and three Masters Series, in which he beat Nadal in the final every time.
The most recent of those was last week, where Djokovic managed to beat Nadal on clay for the first time in his career in Madrid.
But the Spaniard says he's not worried.
"That's part of the game, I'm not worried about Novak. I probably arrived here (in Rome) a bit more nervous because I felt I played badly in the semi-finals and final in Madrid.
"I don't like to play badly. Novak is playing fantastically, he beat me three times but I don't know how many times I beat him in the past.
"I beat him in the US Open (final in 2010), I beat him in the Masters Cup (last year in the round robin stage), three times at Roland Garros (2006, 2007 and 2008), once in Rome (the 2009 final), Madrid two years ago (in the semi-final).
"Now he's playing well but in the past I played very well against him, I've won lots of titles (against him).
"I can't be nervous about Novak because I've won a lot of titles in my career, more than I ever dreamt I would.
"I'll keep fighting to try to find solutions to play better, I'll have more chances for sure.
"In Madrid I think I played badly. I want to play well and I want to do it my way.
"He's doing it his way, he's doing very well. I can only play against him in the final (here).
"I'm not more worried about Novak, I'm only worried if I'm not playing well.
"I'm doing my season and if one player is doing beter than me then I congratulate him."
Nadal still leads Djokovic 16-9 in their head-to-head meetings and 9-1 on clay but the Serbian has won the last three, all this year.
It remains to be seen how long Djokovic can keep up this winning run but Nadal doesn't expect it to affect him when it does come to an end.
"When you're winning you're less affected by a loss," he said.
"When I was winning everything and I lost, I felt it less. Novak will lose, I don't know if it will be tomorrow or in six months but tennis is like this.
"Some moments are fantastic, you feel confident, you feel unbeatable but things change.
"For him the big advantage is that he plays well on other surfaces (than clay) and another is that he's very good.
"He's playing well so all I can do is congratulate him. I'm happy with how I'm doing and we'll see what happens in the next weeks, the next months and the next years."
