Rafael Nadal talked after the defeat with Frances Tiafoe in a very lucid way, as per the logic of things. He explained: “I played very badly, he played very well. I don’t think there are any other particular reasons.
If you want to be in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam you have to play better than me and he did. I had my chances in the fourth set, winning would have given me more motivation, but things just didn’t work out. Now is the time to go home and mentally prepare myself again.
When the time comes and I feel ready to compete again, well, I will.” Should Alcaraz or Ruud reach the final, the men’s Tour will have a brand new number one. He then said: “It happens, life goes like this. Things happen and the world keeps turning.
I have been at the top for a lifetime, these are dynamics that I have always experienced, simply in a little while there will be someone else.”
Rafael Nadal: “Now I’ll think about my child”
About future: “I just lost in the fourth round of the US Open, I can’t say clearly what my plans will be.
Now I just want to go home, I have more important things to think about than tennis. That said, I’ll make the decisions I need to make based on what’s going to happen. My personal life currently takes priority over my professional life.
Right now I just have to do a reset, it’s been a very busy months and before I go back to thinking about work I’ll think about what it will be like to have a child.” What happened off the court, however, did not affect the performance on the court in any way.
For better or for worse: “I don’t have to make excuses. Sometimes things go well and sometimes things go wrong. Today they went wrong. I tried, but I couldn’t. We can keep talking about it for the next 24 hours, but the truth is simple.
He played better than me and won. I want to return to play in Europe with good sensations, there are few tournaments missing and if all goes well I hope to be able to play them.”
