Rafa back on rivals' radar

Rafa Nadal will pose a significant Grand Slam threat again next year after showing signs of returning to his best, according to two of the Spaniard's greatest rivals.

The big-hitting Nadal slumped to 10th in the world rankings this year after a crisis of confidence and form, but since a third-round loss to Italian Fabio Fognini at the US Open, he has rediscovered his old spark.

And his rivals have noticed.

So far at the ATP World Tour Finals, Nadal has beaten world No 4 Stanislas Wawrinka and No 2 Andy Murray, without dropping a set.

He will now face world No 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.

Serbia's Djokovic, who trails Nadal 23-22 but has won all three of their matches this year, believes the 29-year-old is over his slide.

"It's a fact that he's been playing better and he's been raising his level ever since US Open," Djokovic said after his victory over Tomas Berdych on Thursday.

"You can feel that he's starting to get comfortable on the court, starting to play better.

"The first couple of matches he played here against Wawrinka and Murray showed that, showed that he feels more confident, that he's starting to miss less, serve efficiently, using his forehand much better."

Seventeen-time major champion Roger Federer has been burned by Nadal more than any other player, losing 23 of their 34 contests.

Federer fully expects the Spaniard to continue his form into 2016 - providing he stays fit.

"Maybe for Rafa's standard it's not the best season. What is he going to finish, top five? It's still a good season," said the Swiss.

"Everybody would take that except maybe a few players at this tournament.

"The rest of the guys would all love to be in his shoes.

"I think he's going to get stronger. With some time to practice and reassess his game, he's going to be tough to beat in Australia. I believe that."

(China Daily 11/21/2015 page11)