"Very few positives" - Nadal after loss to Coric
ATP
Rafael Nadal waited until the Cincinnati Open to return to the tennis courts, but he lost already in his first match to Borna Coric.
The ATP World No. 3 player played in Cincinnati for the first time in five years. In his first match, which was a second-round match since he had a first-round bye, Nadal played against Borna Coric.
Although the Spaniard spent plenty of time away from the courts, he was still the favorite to win this match. However, Coric played very well, beating the 22-time Grand Slam champion 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3.
Nadal wasn't very happy about the loss. The courts in Cincinnati play very fast, which is challenging for Nadal, and he didn't hide his disappointment after the match.
"I didn’t play my best match. It’s Something that can happen. Historically, this tournament has been difficult for me. For some weird reason at this tournament I never had the best feelings. On the other hand, I felt very welcome here all the time."
Nadal struggled quite a lot in this match, and he even produced seven double faults. After the match, he explained that he was not ready to win this match and also detailed his injury struggles.
“A lot of times coming back from injuries I have done positive things, but in this particular case, it’s obvious that I was not ready enough to win the match. You lose. You move forward. I know the way."
"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 haven’t been easy because having a tear on the abdominal, you don’t know when it is 100%. So that affects a little bit in terms of not sure if you are able to try your best in every serve. I need (to take things) step by step."
