Rafael Nadal easily got past his brutal nose injury in the final set against Italian Fabio Fognini, so, during his post-match interview, Nadal pointed out that what disturbed him more was the slow start he had, labeling it as “one of the worst ever”.
Asked what he was thinking when he was 6-2, 4-2 down against Fognini, Nadal answered. “Try to play a little bit better because it was difficult. Put some balls in and just try to be in the match. For more than 1 hour and a half, I was not competing.
One of the worst starts ever probably, but that’s part of the game. You need to stay humble, to accept the situation. (These) haven’t been some easy months for me. I know this kind of stuff can happen,” said Nadal.
Nadal won only 2 of his 4 service games in the first set, which ended 6-2 for the Italian Fabio Fognini. The second set started with service struggles, both players failing to keep their serves for 5 consecutive games. Yet, at 4-2 for Fognini something clicked in Nadal’s game as we went on to win the set 4-6 and dominate the rest of the match, which ended 6-2, 4-6, 2-6, 1-6 for the Spaniard.
Nadal got past a dark thought once US Open started
During the post-match on-court interview with Darren Cahill in the first US Open round, Rafael Nadal opened up on how he feels like after his victory against Hijikata US Open, sharing a dark thought he had before stepping onto the American court.
“I thought that maybe I will not be able to be back, but here I am,” said Nadal. The Spaniard, however, as he proved himself that he is really back, he thanked the crowd attending Arthur Ashe. “I’m very happy.
A long wait. The night sessions here in New York are the best without a doubt, so I can’t thank enough everyone,” said Rafael Nadal.
