NEW YORK: Rafael Nadal left emotions out of the equation as he did the math, marking out nixes with the keenness of an accountant. The 36-year-old, who hadn't lost a match this year in majors coming into the US Open, was obviously disappointed with his play on Monday, but he wasn't downcast. Clear-eyed and categorical, the Spaniard was unsparing as he laid it out.
The story was in the stats perhaps. Nadal landed a mere 53 percent of first serves (60 of 114) and he converted just two of six break point opportunities. "I wasn't quick enough. He was able to take the ball early too many times, I was not able to push him back," the 22-time major winner said. "Tennis is a sport of position. You need to be very, very quick. In some way, the quality of my shots were poor," he said, "I was not able to create that much doubt for him."
The 2022 season has been a trying one for Nadal for a mélange of reasons, but it has had its moments. The Spaniard braved through tempests to come away triumphant, overcoming injury and irregular preparation to win the Australian Open and Roland Garros titles. He pulled out of the semifinals of Wimbledon with an abdominal injury and lost in the opening round of his only outing before the US Open in Cincinnati.
Nadal, who started poorly in his first two matches, insisted he had been playing well in practice. "When the competition started, my level went down," he said,
"We can make lamentations, but I don't think that is going to change anything," he argued. "We can think, if I don't get injured, maybe I win Wimbledon. Maybe I lost other things because I was not able to create this internal power after all the injuries.
"My career a lot of times went the proper way - sometimes completely unexpected like Australia, like Roland Garros," he underlined, "Of course, this was not the ideal preparation for me, but we can't find excuses. We need to be enough critic with myself. That's the only way to improve."
Nadal is unclear when he'll be back in action. "I'm going to try to be ready mentally," he said, "when I feel ready to compete again, I will be there."
