Nadal: “I have to go through difficult times: I take on the challenge”

With more suffering than usual in a tournament that he has dominated with an iron fist throughout his career, Rafa Nadal is already in the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, better known as Godó, after knocking down the Japanese Kei Nishikori this Thursday (6-0, 2-6 and 6-2). The manacorí wants to see the positive side: “I have to make my way. Things are complicated. If I had been able to win the quarterfinal game in Monte Carlo everything would have been easier, but I am not a supporter of 'what if' .. . I have played tennis a little and I have to go through difficult times. He took on the challenge and the difficulty. Winning in three sets is positive, not negative. “

As the scoreboard indicates, it was a roller coaster match, which the Balearic Islands played once the victory was sealed: “The analysis is simple, I started at a good level, dominating the majority of points, but this often happens when you win a set in this way. He has increased the level a lot from the second and it has been difficult for me to adapt. At the beginning of the third I suffered, but it was an important game for me and I got it out. “” There are more positive things than yesterday and I hope to be ready for tomorrow, “he optimistically launched.

As on Wednesday, when he struggled against a semi-unknown like Ilya Ivashka, Rafa again criticized himself: “The second break made the second set impossible for me. If you are one, you still have options. It was my mistake.” But he was also encouraged for the rest of the event, with Briton Cameron Norrie as his next rival this Friday. “In the third set I felt good, when the game was very difficult. I leave with a positive feeling,” he closed.

The world number three also had words for his rival this Friday in the quarterfinals, the British Cameron Norrie with whom he already faced in the Australian Open: “He is a complete player, who wins many games, is a winner, has an attitude. He believes in himself, and he is not going to give me anything. I will have to play at a high level and I hope to be ready for it. But it is what it is. Every match is an important test. “