” RAFA ” RAFAEL NADAL FEELS THE PRESSURE OF THE TENNIS ELITE , LOSES IN MIAMI TO A TOUGH VERDASCO , BUT LOST MORE TO UNFORCED ERRORS

Written by: Staff on 30th March 2015

" RAFA " RAFAEL NADAL FEELS THE PRESSURE OF THE TENNIS ELITE , LOSES IN MIAMI TO A TOUGH VERDASCO , BUT LOST MORE TO UNFORCED ERRORS

epaselect epa04686103 Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Fernando Verdasco of Spain during the third round match at the Miami Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA, 29 March 2015. EPA/RHONA WISE |

Nadal Is Going Through A Confidence Crisis

With his beloved clay court season soon to begin, Rafael Nadal admitted he is going through a crisis of confidence that could have a serious effect on his ability to win a tenth French Open title.

Aside from winning the title in Buenos Aires against moderate opposition, the former world no.1’s results have been far below his normal standard so far this year and the 28 year-old admitted his anxiety as it was brought starkly into focus by his Miami Open defeat against fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

Fernando Verdasco of Spain in action against Rafael Nadal of Spain during the third round match at the Miami Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA, 29 March 2015. EPA/RHONA WISE

Nadal was not prepared to cover up his current issues as he admitted: “It’s not the question of tennis, it’s the question of being relaxed enough to play well on court,” he said after the 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 defeat by Verdasco who lost 13 times in succession to the long time world no.1 until finally turning the tables in their previous match in Madrid nearly two years ago.

Talking of the loss yesterday to Verdasco when he converted only three of 12 break-point chances and committed 40 unforced errors, with just 18 winners, he said: “I was anxious on court. I wanted to be there. I tried in every point, but I was not able to relax myself, calm myself.”

According to Nadal he hit an all-time low point after the Australian Open when he lost in the quarterfinal to Tomas Berdych and continued: “Today my game in general improved since a month and a half ago. But at the same time, I’m still playing with too many nerves for a lot of moments, in important moments.

“I have been able to control my emotions during 90%, 95% of my matches of my career. . . But I’m going to fix it,” he said. “I don’t know if it’ll be in one week, in six months, or in one year, but I’m going to do it.”

Nadal was insistent this would not be in collaboration with a sports psychologist but said: “I need the help of my team, but especially I need the help of myself. That’s what I am trying to do. Nobody’s going to change the situation for you.”

Nadal revealed he wanted to be in a stronger frame of mind for the start of the clay court season and perhaps that might still be the case with his first tournament, the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters not starting for another two weeks.

However Nadal’s defeat was his earliest in Miami since 2006 and was sufficient to guarantee he will drop below Andy Murray when the new world rankings are released a week from today. By virtue of dropping more than 550 ranking points, he is also in danger of being overtaken by Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic.

Rafael Nadal of Spain waves to the crowd after losing to Fernando Verdasco of Spain following their third round match at the Miami Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA, 29 March 2015. EPA/RHONA WISE

“At this point in my career, I’ve won enough things to say I don’t need to win more, but I want to do it,” said Nadal. “I want to keep competing well. I want to keep having the feeling that I can be competing for every tournament I’m going to play, and I have the motivation to do it. Obviously clay is [a] surface that I’ve had some success, and I hope to be ready for it again.”

Content via Bob Larson tennis news.

Topics: ATP Miami, Fernando Verdasco, Miami Open, Rafa, Sports, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

March 30, 2015 at 10:03 am

#RAFA @RafaelNadal FEELS THE PRESSURE OF THE #TENNIS ELITE, LOSES IN #MIAMI TO A TOUGH @FerVerdasco- http://t.co/8Vczb89tpi #MiamiOpenTennis

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