Rafael Nadal remains high in confidence after his 13-match winning streak came at an end following his loss to Andy Murray in the semifinals of the Madrid Open.
The nine-time French Open champion was just two matches away from becoming the first player in history to win 50 ATP tournaments on clay. The encounter was a case of so near, but so far for the 29-year-old, who converted only 2/13 break points and produced 30 unforced errors. Nevertheless, the Spaniard doesn’t think that he played poorly in his semifinal match.
“Well, of course I didn’t play my best level, but I didn’t play badly. I think I played a medium level, which was not enough to beat Murray today,” he said about his performance.
The figures might be disappointing for Nadal, however, he travels to the Rome Masters happy with his performance at the Caja Magica this week. This week is the ninth time in Nadal’s career that he has reached the semifinals in Madrid.
“I think I had another positive week, I made it to the semifinals.” An upbeat Nadal said.
“I think I have been very consistent every week, which is good news.”
“Today mentally I think I was okay. I fought a lot until the end. I tried to look for solutions but it wasn’t enough.”
Speaking about the changes in the conditions over the past couple days due to the deterioration of the weather, Nadal admitted that it had a negative impact on his game. The heavier conditions made the ball bounce lower on the court, causing mayhem for the Spaniard’s spin. Despite admitting this, the world No.5 refrained from saying that it cost him the match.
“The last couple of days the conditions have been colder and cloudier. Not the ideal conditions for me,” the former Madrid champion said.
“This isn’t an excuse.You have to adapt to all the conditions if you want to have success.”
Whilst the loss on home territory is one that Nadal would like to forget, it hasn’t dented his strong performance on the European clay this season. Prior to this week, the world No.5 won back-to-back titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.
In next week’s Rome Masters Nadal will be seeking to claim his eighth title at the Italian tournament. Awarded with a first round bye, he first opponent will be either Philipp Kohlschreiber or a yet to be decided qualifier in the second round.
Nadal’s projected draw in Rome:
1R – BYE
2R – Kohlschreiber
3R – Raonic / Kyrgios
QF – Djokovic
SF – Federer
F – Murray#Ibi16— GameSetMatch (@Tennis17MAD) 6 May 2016
