Most things, win or lose, seem fairly simple to Rafael Nadal. When he wins, he played better, he was confident and he was feeling good on the court. When he loses, it's usually the opposite – his opponent played better than him and perhaps Nadal wasn't full of belief. Such was the case on Friday, Nadal said, when Dominic Thiem snapped the Spaniard's 50-set and 21-match win streaks in the Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals. [ALSO LIKE] The Spaniard lacked confidence at times, and Thiem lifted his level in the big moments to beat Nadal for the third time in their ninth FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup. View Nadal-Thiem FedEx ATP Head2Head Series “I am playing against one of the best players...
Juan Martin del Potro believes he is gaining momentum on clay, despite a third-round exit on Thursday at the Mutua Madrid Open. “I'm feeling good,” said Del Potro, who returned this week to the ATP World Tour for the first time since late March. “It's not the same to be training than to be competing. That's why two matches perhaps are not too much, but for me it's okay. I think I am getting some momentum.” The popular Argentine remained positive after a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) loss to Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic at the Caja Magica, and now travels to compete at next week’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia. [ALSO LIKE] “I think there are always positive things that you can take...
Novak Djokovic believes he is moving in the right direction, despite losing on Wednesday at the Mutua Madrid Open. “Obviously I'm disappointed from losing this match,” said Djokovic, after losing to Kyle Edmund 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in the second round. “But I can be happy with the progress of the level of my tennis. “There are obvious things that are not working well for me. But I have to keep working on them and pray that — and hope that — my game will get stronger, get better as the matches go the distance. Especially [at] such big tournaments against quality players, you've got to step in. I tried, but obviously, [it] wasn't to be today. Hopefully, [the] next one.”...
Just three months after making his return to competitive action on the ATP Challenger Tour in Newport Beach and Dallas, Kei Nishikori reminded the tennis world of his abilities with a hard-fought run to the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final this week. The former World No. 4, who was forced to shut down his 2017 ATP World Tour season with a wrist injury last August, navigated a tough draw in the Principality, defeating Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic and Alexander Zverev in three-set battles en route to the championship match (l. to Nadal). “This week [is] going to help a lot with my confidence,” revealed Nishikori. “I think I've been playing well this week, and I think I'm almost there, [at my...
It wasn't so long ago that David Goffin's immediate outlook was, well, blurry. In February, the 27-year-old was trailing 3-6, 0-1 in his semi-final match against Grigor Dimitrov at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament when he framed an attempted volley directly into his left eye. That led to the premature end to the match and required an immediate trip to the hospital. The eye injury wasn't deemed serious, but it was still bad enough that the Belgian was forced to withdraw from events in Marseille and Indian Wells. It also required the use of a special contact lens in the damaged left eye while competing. Goffin admits his eyesight isn't completely clear. After his Round of 16 win over...
