Rafael Nadal admits he is low on confidence as stop-start season is taking its toll

ATP Tour
Rafael Nadal in pain PA

Rafael Nadal needs to dust himself off after his Monte-Carlo Masters disappointment and move on, but he concedes that he “doesn’t have confidence” when it comes to playing matches every single day or a couple of tournaments in a row.

The 11-time champion suffered a shock defeat to Fabio Fognini in the semi-finals in the Principality on Saturday, going down 6-3, 6-2 to lose only his fifth match in Monte-Carlo.

It has been a stop-start season for the world No 2 as he has only competed in four tournaments as injuries have once again taken its toll.

The Spaniard admits he is low on confidence, but he won’t have long to rest between his Monte-Carlo defeat and the next event as the Barcelona Open gets underway on Monday.

“I am coming from low moments in terms of injuries, and in terms of the mental side it has not been easy to accept all the things that have been going on,” Nadal said.

“The problem is that sometimes we are used to being very, very solid all the time, and even coming back from injuries, winning and winning and winning, and things are not that easy.

“It is more difficult to hold the same level every single day when you don’t have confidence in tournaments in a row or matches in a row. And that’s what I needed. Even if I have been very competitive all the tournaments that I have been playing, all these stops create some instability…

“That’s why I have been able to win all the things that I won, especially on clay. But it is always more difficult when all these things are going on.”

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