After a tournament of Madrid promising, where he won three matches and where he notably beat Alex De Minaur, Rafael Nadal can continue and play this week on Masters 1000 of Rome. Two years after his elimination, facing Denis Shapovalov, The Bull of Manacor, winner eight times in the Italian capital, won his first round by beating with difficulty Zizou Bergs, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Broken twice in the first round, Rafa raised his level in the other two sets to no longer lose a service game, still saving three important break points at 3-2 in the last set. Despite 32 unforced errors for 23 winning shots, Nadal can really test themselves against Hubert Hurkacz.
Video – Rome – Nadal struggles through the first round
Find here the table of the Masters 1000 in Rome
“My game is more unpredictable than before”
“It wasn’t my best match,” he confided on the court. “I trained better than I played today, no doubt, but I found a way to win. This is very important at the start of the tournament. My game is more unpredictable than before. I haven’t played much tennis in the last couple of years, so I’ve had my ups and downs. I think I can do a lot better than today and I hope I can do it in the next round. It’s always very moving to play here. This is one of the most important tournaments of my tennis career. The crowd has always been great to me, supporting me since the beginning of my career, so I’m very excited to play here once again.“
“I have to push my body to prepare for what’s coming.”
In recent weeks, the Mallorcan wanted to move forward step by step. But at Rome, Rafa really wants to test himself to see if he is ready to play high-intensity matches. “It’s difficult because I take things step by step, trying to make small improvements day by day. But today comes the time when I must try. By that I mean, I have to try to play 100%. I have to release a little fear that I have on certain shots. In Brisbane (in January), I had a tear where I had surgery last year. With this surgery, a significant portion of my psoas tendon had to be removed and I now have to work a lot of the muscles around it much more than before. You have to adapt these muscles to this new configuration, find the right time for that, but I don’t really have that time. That’s the problem and that’s the truth. I have made progress over the past few weeks, but now I need to move forward. I have to see how things evolve. If I can adapt to everything. Roland-Garros is in three weeks. There comes a time when I have to prove to myself that I am capable of pushing my body to the limit necessary to feel ready for whatever comes next.. I have to get used to this, take this risk. If something bad happens, we will accept it. But now is the time to push. I feel more ready to try than before.“
“If something happens, something happens”
“I still have problems, the question is whether they limit me or not. In a way they limit me, but I have to try not to. I need to get rid of this fear. Once this transition period is over, I have to push myself and prove myself. If something happens, something happens. No chance. That’s the goal for this week. The reality is that matches like this help the body adapt to the demanding levels set by the circuit. If I come out of these matches alive, it’s always good news. In terms of tennis, I have to do things much better. I think I’m capable of playing much better than today. I feel closer to the level I want to reach in training, but then I have to put it into practice in matches and it costs me. Day to day, I have a positive outlook on the situation.“
