Madrid, May 11 (IANS): Spanish star Rafael Nadal intends to return to the elite of world tennis and regain his top four ranking before the end of 2015.
Nadal revealed his plan after his loss in the final of the Madrid Masters on Sunday dropped him to seventh in the world rankings, reports Efe.
"I am going to fight to be among the top four by year end and if I don't manage it, I'll accept that this year has not been that good. The world goes on and so will I," said an upbeat Nadal.
"There are two weeks to go before Roland Garros (French Open) but now I'm thinking about Rome. I want to arrive there tomorrow and get some good practice in," said Nadal, ahead of the start of the Italian Open this week.
"I will try to have a good week, and do things well day in day out. If I manage to play at the same level as yesterday, I can match anyone in the world. I'm going to do my best to play like I did yesterday," said the Spaniard, aware that failure to do so could send him further down the rankings.
"I'm defending 600 (ranking) points and I don't know how far I might slip. I don't know the result I need to prevent sliding out of the top eight and having to play consecutive matches against top ranking players in the French Open," the 13-time Grand Slam champion added.
"A week ago though, I was feeling more negative," he said.
"It is something that we all have to be aware of, that after what has happened over the last few years it's difficult to always be up there, to stay in the top four in a year with injuries and then wins after that. That is the reality I have to face after six months with zero points," the nine-time French Open champion explained.
"On the bright side, I'll be sixth in the ATP rankings, but I don't look at ATP rankings, I follow the rankings of the year. In today's times, it's complicated and I am going to try not to think too far ahead.
"This week I'm positive because I'm now sure of not falling out of the top 15 this year. We'll go step by step, and at the end of the year, we'll see where I stand," the 28-year-old said.