MADRID: It was a far from perfect match for Rafael Nadal as the lackluster fourth seed outlasted Italy’s Fabio Fognini 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4, at the Madrid Open.
Throughout a match that had more twists and turns than Lombard Street in San Francisco, the nine-time French Open champion was forced to come behind multiple times. The opening set saw the king of clay fight back from a break down twice to triumph during a tiresome 82-minute opening set. The mini battle seemed destined to elevate the home favorite to a straightforward win, but the underdog refused to go out quietly.
Fognini, who displayed glimmers of the tennis that had brought him a trio of wins over the Spaniard in the past, struggled to pull away when in front. Even an inspired second set resurgence, featuring a 73% first serve winning rate, failed to rejuvenate him for the decider.
The lack of consistency from the Italian proved to be the lifeline Nadal required as an army of Spanish fans cheered him towards the finish line. A break in the sixth game of the decider placed Nadal within touching distance of the win, before Fognini valiantly battled back in the roller coaster encounter. Despite the setback, the fourth seed held his nerve to break once again and book a third round meeting against Nick Kyrgios on Thursday.
Nadal’s patchy performance feature a winner-error ratio of 26-37. Throughout the match he benefitted heavily from his opponents mistakes, which amounted to 47 unforced errors (39% of the total points won by Nadal).
“I haven’t played bad, I played really bad.” said Nadal. “Well, I think that even though I played really badly, my attitude has been very positive. My attitude and the will to win today’s match was there.”
“My level of tennis was not so high today, but I managed to make it through the first round. It was uncomfortable.”
In contrast, an understandably disappointed Fognini was upbeat about his performance in the match. Moments after his Madrid exit, the Italian spoke with ubitennis.net.
“It was a great performance. It was a really tight match, at the beginning there was a few balls that I missed and he played better than me. I’m happy about my performance.” He said.
No time to worry
The sluggish performance comes as Nadal deals with a troublesome ear problem. Earlier this week, the nine-time French Open champion admitted that he was struggling with the issue and experienced moments of dizziness.
“It’s true, I’ve been through some difficult days with the issue of my ear, which cost me a little bit of general stability. I feel a little bit strange. But it’s something that is getting better day after day.” He assured.
There is little time for reflection for the Spaniard as he faces a clash with Nick Kyrgios in less than 24 hours time. Twice the two have played before with the head-to-head level at 1-1. Last year he was taken to three sets on clay by the Australian at the Rome Masters.
“He’s a very difficult opponent. He’s one of the most difficult players you can play. It’s true that I think on clay he’s a very, very tough player.” Nadal said of Kyrgios.
This year Nadal is chasing after a record fifth at the Madrid Open.
