Rafa Nadal explains the knockout in Cincinnati in no uncertain terms

The Spanish champion analyzes the situation

For someone who is not used to defeat, let alone in the early rounds of a tournament, analyzing an unexpected knockout can prove to be a complicated exercise, especially on the eve of a major event like the US Open. Rafa Nadal, however, did not want to hide after his elimination from the Cincinnati ATP at the hands of Borna Coric, and in a press conference he tried to explain what went wrong.

“It certainly wasn’t my best match,” he began, “but I guess it can happen since I hadn’t played in a while and historically I’ve always had some difficulties in this tournament. All I can do is congratulate Borna: he played an incredible match. As for me, I wasted some chances in the tie-break of the first set, but that’s tennis.”

“Wasting shots against players who serve well, at this level, makes it difficult to win any match,” Nadal added. However, I am happy for Borna, he was simply better than me today. The US Open? I need to get back into ‘Slam mode,’ being careful to maintain my condition after the injury.”