Rafael Nadal doesn’t sound like he’s sweating his latest loss too much.
Playing at the Western & Southern Open outside Cincinnati for the first time since withdrawing ahead of his Wimbledon semifinal with Nick Kyrgios due to an abdominal tear, Nadal dropped a 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3 decision to Borna Coric of Croatia in a 2-hour, 51-minute battle.
Still, the loss should be taken in context. Nadal hadn’t played in more than a month. He’s historically struggled in Cincinnati (his only title came in 2013). And the tournament plays with different balls than those used at the U.S. Open.
“Obviously I didn't play my best match,” Nadal said in his post-match presser, later revealing he was only able to play two practice sets in the buildup. “[It is] something that can happen. Historically this tournament has been difficult for me. So coming back from a tough period of time, [it is] something that's easy to accept and easy to say congrats to Borna, that he played better.”
Nadal missed out on two set points in a dramatic first-set tie-break but regrouped to force a decider. Down the stretch, Coric dictated the rallies as he claimed his lone break of the match midway through the final set to earn the statement victory.
“It's difficult to take a lot of positive things, but I need to improve,” Nadal said. “I need to practice. I need to return better. I need days [on the court], and that's the truth. Obviously I had my chances in the beginning. In the tie-break I had two important chances with two set points that I played terrible with two more-or-less easy shots.”
Nadal, 36, won the first two legs of the Grand Slam this season at the Australian Open and the French Open before withdrawing from Wimbledon ahead of the semifinals.
He has won the U.S. Open four times, most recently in 2019.
Novak Djokovic is not expected to play the Open because foreigners who are unvaccinated cannot currently enter the U.S.
Nadal will be the No. 2 seed behind world No. 1 and defending champion Daniil Medvedev. If the Spaniard were to win the Open, he could stretch his major lead over Djokovic to 23-21.
“You lose, you move forward. I know the way,” he said. “The main thing for me is to stay healthy. It has been a difficult injury to manage, to be honest. The last month and a half hasn't been easy, because having a tear on the abdominal, you don't know when [you are]100 per cent over the thing, so that affects a little bit in terms of not [being] sure if you are able to try your best in every serve."
The next time he plays will be in the Big Apple.
“I need to move forward and just start to think about the energy that the crowd gives me in New York,” he said. “I know it's a very special place for me, and I enjoy it. [I've had] unforgettable moments there, and I'm going to try my very best every single day to be ready for that.”
(The ATP contributed reporting.)
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