Nadal, bigo sa ATP Finals opener
Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts during his first round-robin match against USA's Taylor Fritz at the ATP Finals tennis tournament on November 13, 2022 in Turin. (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP)
Sa unang pagkakataon ay nabigo si Rafael Nadal sa kaniyang pagtatangka na magwagi sa ATP Finals, makaraan siyang daigin ni Taylor Fritz sa score na 7-6 (7/3), 6-1.
Sinabi ng 36-anyos na Spaniard, “It’s about time. I have less time than him to do what I want to do on the ball. I felt that everything was going so fast.”
Ang year-ending finals ang tanging major trophy na wala pa sa honours list ng tennis star na si Nadal, at ang kaniyang straight-set na pagkatalo ay nangangahulugan na medyo mahihirapan na siyang makabawi.
Malamang na kakailanganin niyang kapwa mapanalunan ang natitira pa niyang matches laban sa kaniyang Green Group opponents na sina Casper Ruud at Felix Auger-Aliassime, upang makarating sa semi-finals.
Si Nadal na hindi na nakapaglaro makaraan ang US Open noong Setyembre, ay nagsabing nahihirapan siyang maibalik ang dati niyang porma at lakas sanhi ng kamakailan ay tinamong injuries.
Aniya, “Normally I try to come back in lower events. Normally you don’t need to play at your top to win a couple of matches. Then if you made that happen, when you face the top players, you are more ready. I struggled with the aggression of Fritz and the pace of the surface.”
Dagdag pa niya, “On most of the points of the match, I was in a defensive position and he was in an offensive position. That’s what happened. That’s something that was difficult to avoid for me because you need to be quicker on your legs, quicker in your mind. That’s what’s happening when you are coming back. On this kind of surface, you need to play very well. You don’t have time to think.”
Ayon naman kay Fritz, “I did a good job, protecting my serve, holding my serve and I did very well in the tie-breaker. Once I got through that I just wanted to do the same thing I was doing in the second set, protecting my serve and capitalise on break points when I got them.”
Sinabi ni Nadal, na nadaig siya ni Fritz sa ikalawang set.
Aniya, “At the end, Fritz played very well. I was not able to handle his power. Serving like Fritz served, then you are under pressure all the time. When somebody is serving that way, on the return he is going for every shot. Just well played from him.”
© Agence France-Presse
