Rafael Nadal admits he is struggling to play at his full intensity due to concerns it could spark another injury setback.
The former world No.1 shed light on his current mentality in the sport following a marathon 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, win over Belgium’s Zizou Bergs at the Italian Open. Nadal lost a 3-1 lead in the opening set before fighting his way back to prevail and avoid back-to-back Tour-level defeats on clay for the first time in his career.
It is the third week in a row that Nadal is playing after Madrid where he reached the fourth round before losing to Jiri Lehecka. Although the Spaniard was visibly frustrated with his latest performance.
“Today was not a good match for me. I didn’t play the way that I really think I can play and I need to play.” He said.
“I was able to find a way to win and that gives me the chance to play in two days again, to show myself, that I can do it much better than today.”
However, the task is easier said than done for Nadal who remains wary about how his body will hold up during matches. He missed most of last season due to a hip problem which required surgery. Then this year in Brisbane he sustained a muscle tear that put him out of action once again. Nadal has repeatedly said how much longer he continues his career depends on his health.
“Arrive the moment today that I need to try to play at my 100 percent,” Nadal commented. “It’s not easy because I need to lose a little bit of fear that I have in some shots.
“In Brisbane, I got a tear in the place where I had the surgery last year. Sometimes important surgery like I had to remove an important part of my psoas tendon, put a lot on muscles around working more than before. It’s about having the right time to adapt all these muscles to this new configuration of the hip. But I don’t have that much time, no? That’s the problem and that’s the (truth).
“I really hoped that I would be able to have this progress (from) the beginning of the season til Monte Carlo (so) that I was able to start playing at my 100 percent in Monte Carlo. That was not the case because I had an abdominal thing. I did this progress the last three weeks on the tour. But arrive the moment that I need to try, I need to go for everything. If something happens, something happens. That’s the truth.”
The 37-year-old admits that overcoming this ‘fear’ is critical for his chances of playing his very best later this month at the French Open. An event he has won a record 14 times so far in his career. Whilst he is yet to confirm his decision to play in Paris, the signs are looking promising.
“I have Roland Garros in just two weeks and a half, so… arrive at a moment that I need to prove myself if I am able to push my body to the limit that I need to push to feel myself ready for what’s coming,” he continued.
“I am not talking only about Roland Garros. I am talking about the next match. I need to lose this fear. Matches like today help. Some moments I was moving faster. Some moments not. I need to get used to that, to take that risk. It’s a moment to me that happens. If something wrong happens, we going to accept it. But that’s the moment to push. I feel more ready to try it than before.”
Next up for Nadal in Rome will be a showdown against seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz. He will be aiming to beat a top-10 player for only the second time this year after Alex de Minaur in Madrid.
“I need to accept that my level, it’s a little bit more on and off. It used to be that was very stable. I need to find this stability again.” he concluded.
