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'Sometimes when you are going up the stairs you may take a step backwards' - Rafael Nadal disappointed yet positive after Madrid Open loss

Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal’s suffered a humiliating 6-4, 6-4 loss to Alexander Zverev in the quarter-final of the Madrid Open.

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Sky247 Staff
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Rafael Nadal

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Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal suffered a humiliating 6-4, 6-4 loss to Alexander Zverev in the quarter-final of the Madrid Open. The loss is a massive setback for Nadal who was looking at the tournament as a preparation for the French Open. Nadal was disappointed with the loss but said that sometimes you need to take a step back to move forward.

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“Negative feelings because this was an important week for me,” Nadal said. “I had been progressing, but sometimes when you are going up the stairs you may take a step backwards, and that’s what happened today.”

The king of clay court added that he did most things right in the tournament but wasn’t at his best in the quarter-final. Nadal booked his berth in the top eight after an impressive win over Alexei Popyrin.

Nadal hasn’t played much of late due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Also, he hasn't been at his best in the previous tournaments. Nadal lost to Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinal of Monte Carlo then won the Barcelona Open after dropping multiple sets through that week. He then bowed out of the Australian Open after losing the quarter-final earlier this year. Nadal now sets his sight on the 10th Italian Open next week as he looks to hit peak form before the French Open.

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Despite winning the Madrid Open five times, Nadal said that he doesn’t enjoy the extra pace, prompted by the high altitude in the Spanish capital. He further said that he will take back the positives from the tournament and will try to work on the flaws.

“It was a week with many positive things. I did a lot of things well in training,” he said. “I leave Madrid with good sensations in general, but with a bad sensation of having played a match like today.”

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