ATP Finals, Rafael Nadal doesn’t get down.

Nadal feels he still has a chance

Despite an ugly loss to Taylor Fritz in the first match of the group stage of the ATP Finals, Rafael Nadal is not downhearted and still believes in qualification.

The Spanish star commented on his defeat in a press conference as follows, “I think I played a good first set. The serve worked well. He played an incredible match, so I can only congratulate him. The first break in the second set may be okay, the second one not. I need to play more matches at this level, also because I am training well. I think this is perfectly normal.”

“It’s probably not the ideal tournament for me, and it’s also not easy to re-enter the circuit after a few months of stop, especially if you don’t have the right feelings on court. Against such strong opponents on a surface that doesn’t give you a chance to make mistakes, small details can make the difference and a player who has more awareness in his own means at this moment wins,” Nadal continued.

The Manacor champion still believes in qualification: “It was not the start I had hoped for, but I still have a chance in this tournament. What have I improved since Paris? Not much, looking at the result. In training I feel competitive, matches however are a different story. I repeat, against high ranking players the details make the difference. He served extraordinarily well, he was always aggressive, he made few mistakes.”

Now Nadal will face Felix Auger-Aliassime: “It will be a match like any other, because with this formula you don’t go out if you lose the first match. I will simply have to try to do better and hope I will be ready. He ended the season winning three tournaments in a row, playing at a very high level, so it will be a great challenge for me,” Rafa concluded.