Rafael Nadal: “Rome is one of the most important events in my career” | ATP Tour | tennis

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Nadal: “Rome is one of the most important events in my career”

The Spaniard lost to Hurkac in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 on Saturday.

May 11, 2024

Rafael Nadal endured a tough Saturday afternoon at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where the record 10-time champion fell to Hubert Hurkac in straight sets. Still, a disappointing end to his 2024 campaign is not going to tarnish Nadal’s memories as he looks back on his achievements in Rome.

“I always say that I can never say thank you enough for the love and support I get from all over the world,” said Nadal, who previously said this season would likely be the last of his career. “Here in Rome is obviously one of the most important events of my tennis career, one that will be close to my heart for many reasons.

“I played some of the most important matches here, beautiful, emotional. At many points in my tennis career, I was able to come back from difficult moments playing in Rome, especially in the last eight years, when I came here with some doubts, then I started playing well here.

“Obviously, it wasn’t like that today, but it really happened in the past. I really enjoyed playing on this court.”

Nadal conceded five break points in his first game of the first Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Hurkac. It later proved costly as the Pole dialed back his serve and took control of the match from midway through the first set.

“I think it was obviously difficult,” reflected Nadal, who is now 70-9 in the Italian capital. “Obviously I started the match well. The first few games, almost half an hour for the first two games, a few chances and playing well. Then [he] I had a hiatus and lost a bit of the way to pull it back, the way to create so much on it.

“In the first set, I think the score is a little bit misleading as to what the game was. Then he was a lot better than me in the second. I didn’t have that feeling in the first, but in the second. I just couldn’t get him back.”

Nadal was competing in just his third tour-level event since returning from injury in mid-April. While the Spaniard is still trying to rediscover his best level while easing back physically, he believed his performance against Hurkac was an inaccurate reflection of how he feels.

“He served well. It was difficult for me to come back,” said the former PIF ATP ranking no. It’s hard to feel like you have a real chance of returning his serve and not being able to do enough damage and create errors for him.

“It is. Just accept it. It was a difficult day for me in every way because I felt more ready than I showed. It gives me a bad feeling because [I was] feel better [but was not] I can show myself on the court… As I said before the tournament, I’m a little more unpredictable today, I haven’t been playing enough in the last two years.”

Nadal also looked ahead to Roland Garros, where he won a record 14 titles.

“Now [there are] Two ways,” he said. “Probably one is to say, OK, I’m not ready, I’m not playing well enough. Then there is the moment to decide not to play at Roland Garros. The second is to accept who I am today and work hard to be different in two weeks.

“The decision, as you can imagine, is not clear in my mind today. But if I have to say what I feel and if my mind is so close, I will say that I will be at Roland Garros and I will try my best.

“Physically I have some problems, but probably not enough yet to say that I will not play in the most important event of my tennis career. Let’s see what happens, how I feel mentally tomorrow, tomorrow and in a week. If I feel ready, I will try To be there and fight for what I’ve been fighting for the last 15 years, even if it seems impossible now.”