After Barcelona exit, Rafael Nadal sets sights on winning French Open
The 14-time Roland Garros champion said the key to winning the French Open is being consistent on the Tour
image for illustrative purpose
Former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal said winning the French Open is on his mind after being ousted by Alex de Minaur in the Barcelona Open.
The Spaniard was making a return to competitive tennis after missing out on the major part of the season due to an injury.
Nadal said the loss to de Minaur was something that he saw coming and opined that the next few weeks will be the most important ones in his career. “It wasn’t today that I had to give everything and die, I have to give myself the chance to do that in a few weeks, or at least try to. I will try to take a step further in Madrid, then another one in Rome, and, in Paris (French Open) there is the moment to do it, whatever happens, there is no better place to,” Nadal said after his loss in the second round of the Barcelona Open.
The 14-time Roland Garros champion said the key to winning the French Open is consistency, and he has a few weeks of tennis to go to get there. “I need to be getting the weeks of experience, of matches, and feeling more comfortable with everything. I felt more comfortable than yesterday (first-round win). I have to be realistic, I cannot have a game that goes for two-and-a-half-hours, or three,” he opined.
The 37-year-old, who played his last Barcelona Open tournament, said he was happy to have competed and said goodbye on the court. “At least, how things went, for me, I had the chance to say goodbye here on court. That means a lot to me, because I probably felt one week ago that I was not able to play in this event. That would have been painful, so at least I played, I enjoyed the game, and now is the moment to keep going,” he told ATP, after his loss to de Minaur.
Nadal said the two matches he has played in the Barcelona Open give him confidence that he can be competitive on the Tour. “I didn’t practise a lot, so the performance encouraged me to keep going. It tells me that, if I’m able to spend days on the Tour and keep practising with the players, I really hope and believe that I can keep being competitive,” he added.
