Rafael Nadal: Tennis Legend Already Sounds Defeated Headed into Australian Open

Rafael Nadal is a great tennis player, and great tennis players find a way to get through struggles, as we've seen time and time again throughout the sport's history.

But it's one thing for Nadal to be coming off an exhausting 2011 in which he lost six times to new superstar Novak Djokovic.

It's one thing for him to lose in the semi-finals of the Qatar Open to Gael Monfi.

It's quite another for his confidence to be absent.

Tennis is a game where falling mentally can prove to be disastrous on the court. You lose your confidence, it's highly unlikely you're going to do much, even when you're someone like Nadal.

Nadal's words recently are concerning.

Said Nadal, via ESPN:

"

"I see myself capable of having a good tournament but you never know. I am happy with the level of my game, of how I am doing things and I think I am sowing seeds that will bear fruit. But maybe not in Australia."

"

Maybe not in Australia?

This is not the same Rafael Nadal we used to know, folks, even if he says he's taking steps to rebound from the second half of last season. The Rafael Nadal we used to know was sure he was going to win, even if everything around him suggested he wasn't. The Rafael Nadal we used to know didn't wait for something to grow—it was already growing, awaiting to sprout on the clay courts.

Nadal's concerned words, which sprouted up every once in a while last season, are more indicative of where he's at right now than a mere loss in the semi-finals of the Qatar Open.

When he starts saying he knows he's going to win, that's when we'll know he's back to being the player to look out for again.