Rafael Nadal refuses to blame ATP Finals defeat on injury: 'The only excuse is I was not good enough'

Rethink: Rafael Nadal says he is not looking for excuses after his defeat to Zverev.
REUTERS
Joe Krishnan12 November 2019

Rafael Nadal refused to blame his below-par display against Alexander Zverev on his recent injury problems after losing his opening match at the ATP Finals.

The Spaniard looked off-colour from the beginning as Zverev showed his superiority on court, eventually sealing a 6-2, 6-4 victory in an hour and 30 minutes.

There had been concerns over Nadal's fitness going into the tournament after he pulled out of his semi-final clash with Denis Shapovalov at the Paris Masters with an abdominal injury.

But Nadal revealed he felt "no pain" during his clash with Zverev and instead declared his disappointment with his performance.

"I did not feel pain in the abdominal at all," he said in his post-match press conference.

In Pictures | ATP Finals 2019

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"No, [it was] just Sascha [Zverev], well played... and me, bad played, honestly. We can find reasons or excuses, but at the end of the day, what all really matters is I need to play much better in two days after tomorrow. That's the only thing.

"We knew that it was going to be tough at beginning because the period of time since the injury until today is very short, but we are here trying, and that's it.

"I was happy with the way that the abdominal held, and hopefully I can continue like this, because it's true that I was not able to create a lot of practice and a lot of effort on that part of the body since last Saturday.

"So is a positive thing that I played the whole match today. Hopefully I can keep going, and hopefully I can practice a little bit more tomorrow.

"The only excuse is I was not good enough tonight."

Winner: Alexander Zverev got his title defence off to a perfect start with a win over Nadal  Photo: AP
AP

Nadal has been somewhat unaffected by injury in 2019 in comparison to previous years when he suffered a succession of knee injuries. Indeed, he has qualified for the Finals on 15 occasions but only made eight appearances.

But the 33-year-old believes it's only down to bad luck - not bad preparation - that he suffered a setback before the tournament.

"In the past it made much more sense because it's true that I have been playing long and tough seasons, playing a lot of matches and different style of game," he said. "So when I have been playing the last matches of the season, my body was tough to hold.

"But this year I have played in 11 events, not too many. I'm just trying to make the things the right way, to finish the season in the healthiest way possible. And in this case, I think was bad luck in terms of the abdominal injury because it is an injury that is not like my knees are suffering and I am pushing. No, it was a bad movement, and at one point and I didn't feel nothing before.

Nadal revealed his disappointment with his performance  Photo: Action Images via Reuters
Action Images via Reuters

"I don't know if we can call it bad luck or bad preparation, I don't think was that. But you can think about reasons, but honestly, I am not the kind of player. I am not the kind of person to complain or give myself a hard time saying 'why this is happening or why this is not happening'."

Nadal will still feel confident of qualifying but knows he will need to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev if he still hopes to win his first title in London - and also keep his world number one status.

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