adminNEW YORK. — Not even the presence of his sporting inspiration, Tiger Woods, at the US Open could lift Rafa Nadal to his accustomed heights at Flushing Meadows, leaving the Spaniard to assess his recent shortcomings on the court.
Nadal was 151-0 in grand slams when winning the first two sets, but his perfect record ended when he could not stave off the comeback of inspired Fabio Fognini, who prevailed 3-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 in a match that ended in the wee hours on Saturday.
“If you hit the ball a bit shorter, the opponent has more space. If you hit the ball with a little bit of less confidence, then there is not as much topspin like used to be,” he said after his upset loss to the Italian. If you hit shorter . . . the opponent takes the ball earlier, so it looks like you are slower. Is easy to understand, easy to explain. Difficult to change. But I going to do it.”
The third-round defeat put a sour end to a sub-par season for Nadal, 29, whose record run of winning at least one grand slam title for 10 straight years was snapped. — Reuters.
Online Reporter