Rafael Nadal: "I Played Worse Than Last Year"—Is He Right?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: October 11, 2011

commentComment        

In the aftermath of the US Open, I wrote this article discussing whether Rafa's level in 2011 had dropped significantly or not in comparison with 2010. My conclusion was that it hadn't and that the main difference mainly was a guy named Novak Djokovic.

Now, the Spanish Bull himself weighs in on the debate, saying that: 

"I believe Rafa 2010 had something more special than Rafa 2011, especially in tough situations".

"Winning or losing depends on very, very, very small things," expanded Nadal, who finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon and US Open finals. "And probably these very, very small things I did a little bit better in 2010 than 2011. It is hard to win big matches. I lost a lot of finals this year. This year I lost 7 out of 10."

adding

"I don’t think the level has been better than 2010 or 2009. I think it has been similar," said the Mallorcan. "For my part and Roger's part a little bit worse for the moment.

"I played worse than last year. I was very consistent, probably even more consistent than last year, but I played a little bit worse, I think. I think Roger played well, but he lost a few matches that in the past he never would have lost."

The ATP article also states that Andy Murray believes that the level has gone up a notch this season. 

So, what and who are we to believe? Murray and me, or Rafa?



Nadal says that his consistency has been slightly better, which is true given that he's already reached 10 finals with the opportunity to add more this year, as opposed to nine finals in total last year.

Yet, he also claims that he and Federer's level have dropped.

With Federer, it seems evident given he's only won one ATP 250 this season, and though doing reasonably well at the slams, it is still a sub-par and aging Federer we've been witnessing. Losing two 2-...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!