Barcelona [Spain], April 18 : After losing in Barcelona against Alex de Minaur, Rafael Nadal believes he can still be competitive and hopes to be at his best for the French Open.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion was happy he had the chance to say farewell to the Barcelona Open in what he has hinted will be the final season of his ATP Tour career.
It was a bittersweet goodbye for Nadal at the Barcelona Open as he suffered a 7-5, 6-1 defeat against de Minaur in the second round.
The Spaniard was doubtful whether he would be ready to compete in this week's ATP 500, but he eventually entered the court and won a match before losing to Alex de Minaur. While a record 12-time champion in Barcelona was never going to be completely satisfied with a second-round exit, Nadal was glad he had the opportunity to bid goodbye to the event in what he has intimated will be his final season on the ATP Tour.
"At least, how things went, for me I had the chance to say goodbye here on court. That means a lot to me, because I probably felt one week ago that I was not able to play in this event. That would have been painful, so at least I played, I enjoyed the game, and now is the moment to keep going," Nadal said as quoted by ATP.
Despite being unable to maintain full effort on court throughout his first ATP Tour event since January, Nadal was happy with how he matched De Minaur at moments during the pair's fifth ATP Head2Head showdown. The Spaniard showed signs of his old self by regaining a break in the first set, but the current No. 11 in the ATP Rankings, De Minaur, was too powerful.
"Alex is a great player. In terms of tennis today, he was in better shape than me. He has really played at a very high level since the beginning of the season. I think he has made a very important step forward in his level of tennis. I'm just happy for him and I congratulate him for the level he played today," said Nadal.
"I didn't practise a lot, so that [performance] encourages me to keep going. It tells me that, if I'm able to spend days on the Tour and keep practising with the players, I really hope and believe that I can keep being competitive. If my body allows me to push the way that I need," he added.
Nadal may not have been able to perform to his full potential in Barcelona, but he is optimistic about the impact of his first-round victory over Flavio Cobolli and the De Minaur loss.
"I feel much more comfortable and happier today than one week and a half ago. I was able to manage to play two matches, played against a great player. I was not very far [away], without a doubt. I feel myself, if I am able to keep practising days on the Tour, and my body allows me to spend hours on court and have practices the way that I need," he said.
"I hope to be competitive. I hope and believe I can be competitive in a few weeks. That's the way that I need to proceed today, and to give me a chance to be ready at least to compete at Roland Garros," the Spaniard said.
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