Swiss ace Roger Federer says World No 1 Nadal will be under loads of mental pressure if he faces Novak Djokovic whom Rafa has lost to in his last four finals
Swiss ace Roger Federer says World No 1u00a0Nadal will be under loads of mental pressure if he faces Novak Djokovic whom Rafa has lost to in his last four finals
Roger Federer believes that Rafael Nadal is still the favourite to win a sixth French Open title, but says it will be interesting to see how he copes mentally with his recent losses to Novak Djokovic. The Spanish World No 1 has lost his last four matches against the Serb -- all coming in Masters Series finals in Indian Wells, Miami and more recently on the claycourts of Madrid and Rome.
Rafael Nadal. PIC/Getty Images
Those wins have allowed Djokovic to compile an incredible 37-match winning streak for the year that has taken everyone by surprise including Nadal. The Spaniard has only lost once at Roland Garros since his debut in 2005 -- to Robin Soderling in the 2009 fourth round -- but Federer believes that he could have some doubts in the back of his mind heading into this year's tournament.
"It's going to be interesting to see how Rafa deals with the situation mentally. He has lost his last four straight Masters 1000 events to Djokovic," he told L'Equipe sports daily. "That must have some effect on him. Maybe he lost in Rome because of what happened in the three previous finals ? "I'm not going to worry about him, but there is no doubt that he is facing an important point in his career. 
Roger Federer
Mentally it can't be that easy for him. "For myself I don't think it is the same as regards Djokovic. "Even if I have lost my last three games against him I don't think he was dominating me. "In Rafa against Novak that could count -- worth keeping an eye on it," he added.u00a0
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