Looking Ahead- 2015

This year has been… complicated.

Let's Recap...

It's been a long and treacherous 2014 for Rafans. We started off 2014 with a bang, a Doha title. Then it all went wrong… Rafa was playing amazing in the Australian Open until the disastrous final where he obtained his back injury. Very emotional times for us. Since then it's never been the same.

Straight after the Australian Open Rafa won in Rio, but that definitely was not how the rest of the year panned out. No way was it that simple. Poor tournaments ran from Indian Wells to Barcelona. The clay season was Rafa's worst for…. well, a long time. A title was won in Madrid, although it wasn't ideal due to Nishikori retiring in the final. Rome was an improvement, although we lost to Djokovic in the final. A huge amount of doubt built up. Is this Djokovic's year? Will Rafa still win Roland Garros? Stress ran through every Rafan's veins.

Then something amazing happened. A 9th Roland Garros. It was hands down the proudest I'd ever felt, and I loved every second of the win. Finally we had something to celebrate, and it was unforgettable.

Wimbledon was a big improvement of the last few years, and Rafa was finally getting his health in order after the back struggles earlier. We reached the 4th Round, which was a big improvement from last years 1st round exit.

Things were looking up. However, that wasn't the end of it.

All at once there was news splashed across every tennis article 'Nadal withdraws from Toronto and Cincinnati' Ah, the wrist injury. Obtained in practice, it was a simple case of bad luck. Rafa's had a lot of that.

The recovery took longer than expected (no surprises there), and Rafa withdrew from the US Open. I was devastated, he would miss the whole North American season he had so much success at last year.

Finally it was time for his return after 3 lonely months, Beijing. Not expecting much, he reached the quarter finals. Shanghai was next.

Believe it or not, that was not the end of the bad news. Appendicitis.

Rafa lost his first match in Shanghai, but he carried on- amazing.

Basel was going well, until a match vs Coric. Rafa lost 6-2 7-6. He was totally out of sorts and it really was disastrous. In a press conference afterwards he said he will have treatment on his back next week (still not fine since Jan) and his appendix will come out on November 3rd.

2014 has now finished for Rafa. That's it. No Paris, no London, just recovery. Good riddance.


2015

Next year owes us something great. My ultimate aim for Rafa is to win the Australian Open for the 2nd time, and a 10th Roland Garros. That's the dream. Rafa got so close to winning the Australian Open this year, and I want another shot. And well, a 10th French Open, that would just be incredible. I feel very protective over Roland Garros, I will always want him to retain the title.

I hope next year will bring him good health, as this year has definitely not given that. I hope to celebrate a lot more. It's been a hard season, the hardest ever. I could not be happier to say goodbye to 2014.

Next year I want to make it a good one.

I'm so excited, it can't get worse than 2014, right? Bring it on 2015.