Rafa Nadal 'could need a year' to rebuild shattered confidence

Nadal's appalling clay season came to the worst possible end as he was taken apart by Novak Djokovic in the French Open quarter-finals on Wednesday, the Serb racing to a straight-sets victory.

It was just the second defeat of the Spaniard's career at Roland Garros, and was the worst blow in a series of miserable results for Nadal on his favourite surface.

Yet American tennis icon King says that there is nothing wrong with Nadal's game - only with his attitude towards it.

"He's playing better than he was," King told USA Today. "I just don't know if he knows it...

"I would try to get [him] thinking differently. He keeps telling himself, 'I don't have'. I would keep trying to say what you do have."

Nadal has dropped out of the world's top five this season and seen his aura of invincibility on clay shattered. The 14-times Grand Slam winner, who celebrated his 29th birthday on Wednesday, has openly admitted that he has faced severe confidence issues this season.

And King said that it will take a long time before Nadal can regain his former mental strength, even if his game is physically good.

"I would say you have to maintain this over a year, at least six months before it's going to kick in. So you have to be very patient," she added.