Rafael Nadal spoke about the defeat against Dominic Thiem in Madrid in the run-up to the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome. He made it clear that training with the Austrian before the tournament was no disadvantage and compares the conditions in Rome with those of the French Open.
Nadal also spoke about the pressure that the incredible series of 50 sentence successes en suite exerted on him and how his environment in Mallorca led him to success.
Rafael Nadal in Rome about…
… the match against Dominic Thiem: “I don’t want to think much about the past weeks. I should have played better, know what I did wrong and will try to do better here. I am very happy about my return after the injury. In our sport, you don’t have much time to think about the past.”
… the training with Thiem in the run-up to the Madrid Open: “We have trained together several times. Two weeks earlier he lost 6-2, 6-0, now he has clearly beaten me. But this has nothing to do with training. We play in different conditions, he’s a great player and I wasn’t good enough to win such matches.”
…the conditions in Rome: “The place here is a little smaller than in Barcelona or at Roland Garros. Things happen a little faster here. But we’re closer to Roland Garros than we were last week, no question about it.”
… the pressure on him: “I don’t care about that. Sure, it would be better to win all the matches. Usually, if you win, you should have less pressure. “But after 14 years in this position, I can win and lose matches.”
… His childhood environment in Mallorca: “Tennis is a global sport, you see professionals from all corners of the world. It’s more about the people you have around you. Of course, if you have good weather and better conditions for training, this will help you. “But you need the right family and the right people, and I have the right people.”