Former world number one Rafael Nadal's new coach Carlos Moya has revealed that the Spaniard is short of confidence that he will win close matches. He believes that the tennis star can reclaim the number one ranking in the future, provided he remains injury-free for the whole year.

Moya, who is a former world number one, was hired by Nadal as his third coach on the support team in order to help him get back to the top of the summit. The 40-year-old Moya is confident that the more Nadal plays, the better he will get. The Spaniard is looking to get back to regular action after suffering from a long-term wrist injury.

"In a tennis player's life there are matches that serve as a turning point, a match lost in the tiebreak of the last set, a match that you win and gives you a title. Rafa has lost some of them and that confidence is necessary. When he wins those matches he will return to his usual level. I think Rafa can win majors again and be number one. It's not that I think so, I'm sure. He is Rafa Nadal", said Moya, as quoted by The Courier Mail.

The 30-year-old Nadal recently returned to the court for the first time since October at the Spanish National Championships in the doubles format, claiming that he was not yet ready to jump into singles action. The 14-time Grand Slam winner is expected to play at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship which takes place later this month before moving on to the Brisbane International which is the first ATP tournament of the year and is scheduled from 1 to 8 January.

For Moya, the tennis star's fitness is paramount, claiming that if Nadal can manage to remain fit he will always be a contender and will challenge for the number one ranking.

"The most important thing is he plays without injuries for the whole year. If he is healthy he can go back to being number one, his best game will show up", the 1998 French Open champion added.