Spoiler:
Spaniard will be the top seed in Rome next week
Most things, win or lose, seem fairly simple to Rafael Nadal. When he wins, he played better, he was confident and he was feeling good on the court.
When he loses, it's usually the opposite – his opponent played better than him and perhaps Nadal wasn't full of belief. Such was the case on Friday, Nadal said, when Dominic Thiem snapped the Spaniard's 50-set and 21-match win streaks in the Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals.
You May Also Like: Thiem Ends Nadal's Clay Winning Streaks & Time At No. 1
The Spaniard lacked confidence at times, and Thiem lifted his level in the big moments to beat Nadal for the third time in their ninth FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup.
View Nadal-Thiem FedEx ATP Head2Head Series
“I am playing against one of the best players of the world. He played well. We played in special conditions. The ball flies more here... I was not under control of the point [for most of] the match,” Nadal said.
“My real feeling was when I was hitting the ball with my forehand or even with my backhand, I was not comfortable, confident to change directions... That was my feeling.”
Nadal, No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, had not lost on clay since 2017 Rome, when Thiem also dismissed the Spaniard in straight sets. But, despite his record-setting win streak on clay, Nadal entered the match well aware of Thiem's potential.
“Whenever he plays really well, it's very difficult to stop him. If he plays well, I just need to stop him. That was not the case today. He played well and I didn't play well... We're not playing a game where the differences are big or massive. The differences are very small,” Nadal said.
“I tried to come back. I tried to do it. I tried to do it a couple of times. But I haven't been good enough today... Some days you don't play as good as you would like to play. Also when that happens it's because your opponent is doing really well.”
Nadal will lose his No. 1 ATP Ranking, and Roger Federer will take over on Monday. But the Spaniard found positives in his quarter-final defeat, including his improved position in the ATP Race To London, which will determine which eight players qualify for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals.
View The ATP Race To London
“I think I placed myself in a good position, more or less. I am No. 3 in the Race of the year, which is the most important thing. I still have two good weeks on clay, and then I'll keep on moving forward. This is the reality,” Nadal said.
“I lost the No. 1 before, but what makes me happy is I feel fit, can compete with possibilities every single week. This is my final goal: to be happy. That's what I'm working on.”
The 31-year-old Spaniard also isn't hitting the “alarm” button after the loss. He'll be the top seed in Rome next week, where he could again face Thiem in the quarter-finals of the season's third and final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament on clay. If Nadal can win his eighth Internazionali BNL d'Italia title, he will reclaim No. 1 on 21 May.
“I won 50 straight sets on this surface. Today I lost the match. It was not my day. But that's part of this sport. That's part of the sport in general. So I can't go back to the hotel and think that I have to do a lot of things different to prepare the next events because [that] will not be something that will be very smart,” Nadal said.
“I just have to analyse what's going on and try to play with more determination, more aggressively.”
Most things, win or lose, seem fairly simple to Rafael Nadal. When he wins, he played better, he was confident and he was feeling good on the court.
When he loses, it's usually the opposite – his opponent played better than him and perhaps Nadal wasn't full of belief. Such was the case on Friday, Nadal said, when Dominic Thiem snapped the Spaniard's 50-set and 21-match win streaks in the Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals.
You May Also Like: Thiem Ends Nadal's Clay Winning Streaks & Time At No. 1
The Spaniard lacked confidence at times, and Thiem lifted his level in the big moments to beat Nadal for the third time in their ninth FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup.
View Nadal-Thiem FedEx ATP Head2Head Series
“I am playing against one of the best players of the world. He played well. We played in special conditions. The ball flies more here... I was not under control of the point [for most of] the match,” Nadal said.
“My real feeling was when I was hitting the ball with my forehand or even with my backhand, I was not comfortable, confident to change directions... That was my feeling.”
Nadal, No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, had not lost on clay since 2017 Rome, when Thiem also dismissed the Spaniard in straight sets. But, despite his record-setting win streak on clay, Nadal entered the match well aware of Thiem's potential.
“Whenever he plays really well, it's very difficult to stop him. If he plays well, I just need to stop him. That was not the case today. He played well and I didn't play well... We're not playing a game where the differences are big or massive. The differences are very small,” Nadal said.
“I tried to come back. I tried to do it. I tried to do it a couple of times. But I haven't been good enough today... Some days you don't play as good as you would like to play. Also when that happens it's because your opponent is doing really well.”
Nadal will lose his No. 1 ATP Ranking, and Roger Federer will take over on Monday. But the Spaniard found positives in his quarter-final defeat, including his improved position in the ATP Race To London, which will determine which eight players qualify for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals.
View The ATP Race To London
“I think I placed myself in a good position, more or less. I am No. 3 in the Race of the year, which is the most important thing. I still have two good weeks on clay, and then I'll keep on moving forward. This is the reality,” Nadal said.
“I lost the No. 1 before, but what makes me happy is I feel fit, can compete with possibilities every single week. This is my final goal: to be happy. That's what I'm working on.”
The 31-year-old Spaniard also isn't hitting the “alarm” button after the loss. He'll be the top seed in Rome next week, where he could again face Thiem in the quarter-finals of the season's third and final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament on clay. If Nadal can win his eighth Internazionali BNL d'Italia title, he will reclaim No. 1 on 21 May.
“I won 50 straight sets on this surface. Today I lost the match. It was not my day. But that's part of this sport. That's part of the sport in general. So I can't go back to the hotel and think that I have to do a lot of things different to prepare the next events because [that] will not be something that will be very smart,” Nadal said.
“I just have to analyse what's going on and try to play with more determination, more aggressively.”