MADRID: After what has been a turbulent past few weeks on the tour, Rafael Nadal is finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel.
An injury forced him out of two American tournaments during March, the start to the clay season hasn’t gone as well as he would have liked, and earlier this week he was hit with a stomach virus. It is fair to say that 2019 has been far from perfect for the world No.2.
Despite those misfortunes, Nadal is quietly gaining in confidence at the Madrid Open this week. Bidding to claim his first title of the season, the belief has not lessened for the Spaniard. Who has spent a total of 196 weeks at the top of the ATP rankings so far in his career.
“Personally, I’m feeling very well, which is the most important thing besides anything else. And from that base, I think that I can achieve anything.” Nadal said on Thursday.
“You have to be good emotionally. You need to have the energy to be able to go forward. Right now I have it, I have the joy, I have the energy to be able to do it. And after all, you have to go through a process, you need to give yourself some time. I’m not a big believer that things click night to day.” He added.
Nadal continued his love affair with the Madrid Open on Thursday. Disposing of Next Gen player Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-4, to expand his winning record against the group to 21-2. During the match, he broke twice, once in each set, as the Spaniard blasted six aces and 17 winners past Tiafoe. Nadal is now 18-0 when it comes to playing North American players on the clay.
“There is a really key thing, which is the stability. I think that I have again the stability. I have been able to play two matches pretty solid. I haven’t done super good things, but I haven’t committed any errors.” He commented on his Madrid run so far.
“This is the base of my game. From that base, I have to just keep on going, keep on improving, keep going ahead, keep adding ingredients to the game I have right now, which is quite good.’
“If I manage to add the proper ingredients quickly, I will be ready to compete for both this week and next week in Rome, too.”
In the quarter-finals, Nadal will play Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in what will be their 21st meeting on the tour. Nadal currently leads their head-to-head 17-3 and last lost to him at the 2015 Paris Masters. Wawrinka defeated Kei Nishikori in his third round match earlier in the day.
“It’s a challenge to play him on the clay court. I have played him many times. It’s always difficult to play him.” The three-time grand slam champion said of playing Nadal.
“I’m happy the way I’m playing so far. I’m happy to be in the quarterfinal again, gaining confidence little by little. I know I’m playing well. I know I’m physically good, so we will see.”
Wawrinka, who is a former French Open champion, has the skills to be Nadal’s biggest challenge on the clay yet. Despite their seemingly one-sided head-to-head. The Swiss player is yet to drop a set in three matches played this week.
“I expect a very tough match. He is playing with confidence. It will be a tough one. He likes to play here in these conditions, fast court. And it will be a tough one.”
As a result of his latest win, five-time champion Nadal is now has a 36-6 win-loss record when it comes to playing at the Caja Magica. He has won the title more times than any other player in the history of the tournament.
