RAFAEL NADAL’S uncle, Toni Nadal, will step down as his coach after this year’s ATP Tour, as he feels he has been sidelined by other figures in the player’s entourage, he told an Italian tennis magazine.

    The 55-year-old has been with the 14-time Grand Slam champion since before the Spaniard broke into the big-time by winning the French Open as a teenager in 2005.

    Two weeks after watching his nephew lose in five sets to Roger Federer in the Australian Open final, Toni Nadal told Il Tennis Italiano website Monday that after this season he wants to concentrate on training emerging players. “The truth is that every year I am making fewer decisions, to the point that I won’t be deciding anything any more!”

    Former World number one and fellow Mallorcan Carlos Moya joined Nadal’s coaching staff this season, hoping to help revive the player’s career.

    (SD-Agencies)