Nadal not obsessed with beating Djokovic

Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts in his men's final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during day fourteen of the 2012 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 29, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia.

Photograph by: Clive Brunskill, Getty Images

Rafa Nadal has lost his last seven matches against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, but the Spaniard denies that he has a burning obsession to beat the Serb.

The pair last met in January's Australian Open final when Djokovic clinched the title for a third time with an epic 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 victory that lasted nearly six hours.

While Nadal enjoys a 16-14 career advantage over the Serb, he has been beaten on all types of surfaces in their past seven encounters, all of them in finals.

"I say it always the same, I want to improve for me," world No. 2 Nadal said Thursday while preparing for the Indian Wells ATP tournament in the California desert.

"I don't want to improve to beat Novak, to beat Roger [Federer] or to beat nobody. I try my best every day to improve my level of tennis, to be a better player year by year.

"And if that's enough to beat Novak, fantastic. If not, I'm gon-na keep working. When I wake up every morning and I go on court for practice, I don't think about Novak. I think about the things I need to keep improving, I think about myself."

Nadal, a 10-time grand slam champion, said he had maintained the same strategy through-out his career, both before and after he eclipsed Federer as the game's top player.

"It's worked well all this time, may-be now it's not working any more as well, but hopefully yes," the Spanish left-hander added with a smile.

"But that's my way and that's the way that my mind works.

"I don't have the spirit of revenge, I don't have the spirit of obsession with another player. My spirit is to try and be a better player every day for myself. That's my satisfaction."

Asked whether he felt the sport's No. 1 player would always lift the game of his closest rivals, Nadal replied: "To have somebody in front always helps - to have a reference in what you have to improve.

"When you are behind some-body, it is sometimes a little bit easier than when you are on the top. At the same time, I prefer to be in front."

While Djokovic clinched his fifth grand slam title at Melbourne in January to continue his recent domination over the Spaniard, Nadal was largely happy with how he had performed against the Serb.

"I am not happy about my second and third sets, but for the rest of the match, I am happy with how I did. In general, it was a very positive tournament for me."

Source: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/obsession+beat+Djokovic+says+Nadal/6276399/story.html