“RAFA” RAFAEL NADAL LOSES ON MADRID’S CLAY IN THE FINALS AND DROPS OUT OF TOP FIVE! YIKES THAT’S SCARY SEEDING COMING INTO THE SLAMS

Written by: on 11th May 2015
MUTUA MADRID TENNIS OPEN MEN FINAL
"RAFA" RAFAEL NADAL LOSES ON MADRID'S CLAY IN THE FINALS AND DROPS OUT OF TOP FIVE! YIKES THAT'S SCARY SEEDING COMING INTO THE SLAMS

epa04742100 Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal hits the ball against British Andy Murray during the Mutua Madrid Tennis Open tournament's final match in Madrid, Spain, 10 May 2015. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN  |
Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal hits the ball against British Andy Murray during the Mutua Madrid Tennis Open tournament’s final match in Madrid, Spain, 10 May 2015. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN

 

 

Nine times French Open champion Rafael Nadal has fallen to the no.7 spot in today’s Emirates ATP World Tour rankings, his lowest position for more than a decade. However with the start of Roland Garros less than two weeks away, the former world no.1 tried to put on a brave face following his emphatic final defeat at the Mutua Madrid Open by Andy Murray.

 

The last time Nadal was not a member of the world’s top five was May 2, 2005 and Murray became only the fourth player to beat him in a clay court final after Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and current world no.143 Horacio Zeballos in the 2013 Vina del Mar event in Chile.

 

“It’s been complicated today,” admitted Nadal after losing 6-3, 6-2 to Murray. “It’s not the day I was expecting. The match started badly. After that, I lost the rhythm of the game.

 

“I tried until the very end. I think the attitude was there. During every single moment, I was fighting and trying to give the maximum. It’s one of those days where things just didn’t work out.”

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal serves against British Andy Murray during the Mutua Madrid Tennis Open tournament’s final match in Madrid, Spain, 10 May 2015. EPA/CHEMA MOYA

 

However Nadal, who certainly looked back to his best in the semi-final win over Tomas Berdych insisted: “I cannot leave Madrid not happy. I have to leave happy and just delete what happened today. I will just stay with the good things that happened this week, and there are a lot of them, more good than bad. I will try to recover the good feelings in Rome.

 

“I think I’ve made a step forward and I’m playing better. I haven’t been able to play two weeks in a row, well, in the whole year. I think it’s time that I play two weeks in a row. Let’s see what happens next week in Rome. Hopefully I’ll be focused and fight as much as I can to make [it] a good week.”

 

Nadal has a further 600 ranking points to defend at Rome’s Foro Italico after reaching last year’s final where he lost to Djokovic. He is in Stan Wawrinka’s quarter of the draw and Roger Federer’s half.

 

The Majorcan continued: “I’ll try to have a good week in Rome, and by a good week, that does not mean only to win. It’s a very complicated tournament. We have the top players there, but I also know if I manage to play the level I did [Saturday] I can be competitive against every single player.

 

“Whatever will happen will be. It’s something that we have to realize, all of us, that what’s happening during these last years, it’s very complicated to be ten or eleven years without leaving the Top Four.”

 

 

 

Story via Bob Larson news service.

Topics: , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.