Ivan Ljubicic, who will play Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of Roland Garros, says players have noticed the Spainard's lack of self-belief. Five-time French Open champion Nadal has lost to world No. 2 Novak Djokovic in four finals this year.
"There is no question that his confidence is shaken," Ljubicic told reporters. "You see him in the locker room. He's saying it. He's not hiding it. He's just not feeling as comfortable as he was feeling last year. And even the matches he's winning, he's not dominating as much as he used to be. But we all know that the more tournament progresses, he's playing better tennis. He's definitely still the man to beat on clay. Obviously Djokovic—if they play the final, I think Novak will be slight favorite. But still, to beat Rafa on clay best of five, only one guy [Robin Soderling] managed to do that in so many years, so there's no question that it's still very, very difficult to beat him."