Rafael Nadal Unsure Of Future After ‘Bad’ US Open Performance - UBITENNIS
Connect with us

ATP

Rafael Nadal Unsure Of Future After ‘Bad’ US Open Performance

The former champion says now is not the time to find excuses after being knocked out of Flushing Meadows.

Published

on

Image via US Open Twitter

A candidly speaking Rafael Nadal has berated his performance after crashing out of the US Open on Monday. 

 

The world No.3 suffered a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, loss to Frances Tiafioe in the fourth round in what is his earliest exit from the tournament since 2016. Playing under a closed roof of the Arthur Ashe stadium, Nadal failed to capitalize on a 3-1 lead in the fourth set which could have taken the match into a decider. Instead, he ended up losing five games in a row to crash out of the tournament.

“I played a bad match and he played a good match. In the end that’s it,” Nadal said during his press conference. 
“I was not able to hold a high level of tennis for a long time. I was not quick enough with my movements. He was able to take the ball too many times very early, so I was not able to push him back.’
“My shots need to be better. In some way my understanding of the game and the quality of my shots were not good enough, they were poor.”

Heading into New York the 35-year-old had only played one match over a 50-day period. That was at the Western and Southern Open where he lost in straight sets to Borna Coric. Nadal missed a chunk of the Tour due to an abdominal injury which forced him to pull out of Wimbledon. 

However, the Spaniard is reluctant to blame his recent woes on his latest defeat given what he has done in the past. His run to winning the Australian Open and French Open titles this year came shortly after he was hampered by issues related to his long-term foot condition. Nadal suffers from Mueller-Weiss Syndrome which is a degenerative condition that affects bones in the feet and causes chronic pain.

“Of course, this was not the ideal preparation for me. But in other cases it went the right way, even with not the perfect preparation,” he said
“We can’t find excuses. I need to be critical of myself. That’s the only way to improve or that’s the only way that I understand you are able to find solutions.’
“I have been practising well the week before but then when the competition started, my level went down.”

Conceding that his lacklustre performance could be linked to the mental side of his game, the 22-time Grand Slam champion will return to Spain to try and figure out what went wrong for him. 

“I need to go back. I need to fix things so I don’t know when I am going to come back. I’m going to try to be ready mentally. When I feel that I will be ready to compete again, I will be there.” He stated

The frank admission from Nadal raises questions about if he will play in this year’s Davis Cup. He also has a lot happening in his personal life with his wife set to give birth to their first child later this year. 

As for Tiafoe, he has become the youngest American man to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open since Andy Roddick did so in 2004. The 24-year-old will next play Andrey Rublev who he beat at the same tournament 12 months ago. 

ATP

Alexander Zverev Deserves More Respect According To Boris Becker

According to Boris Becker, Alexander Zverev deserves more respect from tennis journalists.

Published

on

Alexander Zverev (@WeAreTennis - Twitter)

Boris Becker has claimed that Alexander Zverev deserves more respect despite Zverev failing to live up to his potential at Grand Slams.

 

Zverev has only reached one Grand Slam final in his career despite being a regular inside the world’s top ten as well as performing at regular ATP events.

This season Zverev played a limited schedule after recovering from an ankle injury but still managed to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

However most critics have been loud when judging Zverev’s career as it was looking likely that he would be a regular Grand Slam champion.

The German has failed to live up to expectations but former Grand Slam champion Boris Becker believes Zverev deserves more respect.

Speaking to Eurosport Becker also said that Zverev’s father being the coach is a more than successful approach when it comes to the former US Open finalist’s career, “In my opinion, he doesn’t get enough respect from the tennis experts internationally,” Becker explained.

“They’re all talking about the young three or four, but don’t give Zverev, Medvedev or Rublev enough respect. He’s playing with his fist in his pocket a little bit, wants everyone show that he is not a thing of the past, but that his best time is yet to come.

“Surely his father knows best what is good for his son, but if you look into the box at the competition, you can also see changes.”

Becker has followed Zverev for most of his career so knows that the best is yet to come from the German.

Alexander Zverev will look to prove himself next season when he starts his 2024 season when he represents Germany at the United Cup.

Continue Reading

ATP

Juan Carlos Ferrero Analyses Key Areas For Carlos Alcaraz’s Development

Juan Carlos Ferrero has outlined the next steps in Carlos Alcaraz’s development.

Published

on

(@tennisnewsbrazil - Twitter)

Carlos Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero has analysed the key areas for the Spaniard’s development heading into the 2024 season.

 

The former world number one’s season has come to an end after a successful year which saw him win the Wimbledon title as well as winning two Masters 1000 titles.

Alcaraz capped off an incredible season by reaching the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.

However there is a long way for the Spaniard to go if he wants to consistently go toe-to-toe with Novak Djokovic.

Speaking to Marca Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero spoke about the Spaniard’s development and said that Alcaraz is too emotional, “Be more regular in games, not open doors. Sometimes there are mistakes and it is something that we have to improve a lot,” Ferrero commented.

“Although it is true that he opens doors, he always competes well and at the highest level. He knows it, the other day he already said that Novak doesn’t give you one. He has to improve his decision making and he will achieve that with experience. Carlos is very emotional and that sometimes helps him and other times not so much.”

It’s clear Alcaraz’s high-quality is there but to consistently do it against Djokovic is another task altogether as the Spaniard looks to go from strength-to strength next season.

One area that is clearly a priority for Alcaraz is physical conditioning especially considering what happened against Djokovic at Roland Garros earlier in the season.

Ferrero said that will be a clear focus heading into 2024 but couldn’t guarantee that Alcaraz will play a tournament before the Australian Open, “Because of the year and the fatigue he has been in, what he needs is rest and disconnecting for 8-10 days with his friends,” Ferrero stated.

“From there, the thinking must go back to working really hard, strong and well to start very strongly in Australia. One can never be sure of that. Sometimes you play a tournament and it doesn’t go well, you left home too early. There are many ways of thinking.

“This year we haven’t played Australia and he finishes number two. That means there is no urgency to play a tournament early. Carlos is a player who enters competition quickly, you don’t usually see him without rhythm.

“Although it is true that he becomes more dangerous from the round of 16, from the quarter-finals. I am confident that the two exhibition matches and the training sessions will help us play a good tournament.”

Alcaraz will be looking to play the Australian Open which starts on the 15th of January after the Spaniard missed last year’s tournament due to a leg injury.

Continue Reading

ATP

Australian Open Chief Confident Nadal Will Play But Kyrgios’ Participation Uncertain

Published

on

Nadal RG 2022 by Night (foto @RolandGarros)

The tournament director of the Australian Open says he is ‘certain’ that Rafael Nadal will play at the Grand Slam even though the Spaniard has yet to outline his comeback plans. 

 

Craig Tiley told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday he hopes to receive some clarity over Nadal’s intentions in the next couple of weeks but is confident he will play. However, the tennis official had previously claimed in October that the former world No.1 had already committed to play in the event before his team denied that statement.  

Nadal, who has won 22 Grand Slam titles, hasn’t played a Tour match since his second round defeat at the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury. He was originally expecting to take an eight-week break but the recovery didn’t go to plan and he ended up having surgery. In May he confirmed that he will take an extended break from the sport to heal his body and admitted that retirement next year is a possibility.

“Rafa has been training, I follow him closely, probably every day because he’s a massive drawcard for us,” the Reuters News Agency quoted Tiley as saying. 
“He wants to play, he’s obviously planning on playing. It all depends on how he pulls up.
“Hopefully in the next week or the next two weeks, we get some specific confirmation of that. I’m certain Rafa will be here because he’s not going to want to miss the opportunity to repeat what he did a couple of years ago.”

Earlier this month Nadal confirmed that he intends to return to the Tour but admits that he will continue to experience a degree of pain. Although he has yet to give any information about which tournament he will begin his comeback at. The 2024 season begins during the first week of January.

“I’m well, training, and happy. I’m at a good stage of my life,” atptour.com quoted Nadal as telling reporters in Barcelona.
“Until now I didn’t know if I would play tennis again someday, and now I genuinely believe I will. I’m still not ready to say when, but I’m able to train increasingly longer, and the progress is good.’

Will Kyrgios play?

Another player Tiley is eager to welcome back is home player and former Wimbledon Finalist Nick Kyrgios who has only played one Tour-level match this season due to injury. He underwent knee surgery in January and then tore a ligament in his wrist during the summer. As a result, the Australian currently doesn’t have an ATP ranking due to his inactivity. 

“We have spoken to Nick, and he obviously wants to do the best he possibly can to give him the best chance to play in January,” Tiley said of Kyrgios.
“Whether he’s playing, whether he’s doing something else, Nick will be here in January and to get him to play will be great. But we’ve got to take it as it comes and he’s got to make sure he takes care of his health …” 

Kyrgios recently worked as an analyst for the Tennis Channel during this year’s ATP Finals in Turin and gave a brief update on his ongoing recovery during a segment. 

“After last year, I had such a great year, and I’m so hungry to get back out there,” the 2022 Wimbledon finalist commented.
“So I’m doing everything I can to get back out there. Obviously, you know how injuries are every day, just doing the rehab, doing the gym work.”

The Australian Open will begin on Sunday 14th January. Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka are the defending champions. 

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending