Nadal: “It was difficult for me to breathe”

This time, I can’t be. The summary, neither more nor less, of Rafa Nadal after losing to Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final. The match was twisted from the first games and, despite the drive of the Balearic Islands, who forced the tie-break in the second set, the miracle was not completed. Among the reasons, surely, some physical problems in his left pectoral that, against Carlos Alcaraz, already tormented him. Despite this, without excuses, Nadal, at the foot of the track, limited himself to congratulating the American playerthe first local winner since Andre Agassi in 2001, and thanked all the support received during the two weeks of the tournament.

Taylor Fritz: “Congratulations, Taylor. It’s a great day for you. Best wishes for the future.”

Start of course: “I have tried to give the best of myself these last two weeks. Today has not been possible. I have fought until the end. It has been a very exciting start to the season. Last year I could not compete due to injury, two years ago due to the pandemic and I’m delighted to have been able to play here again.”

Public Support: “Thanks for all the support. It’s always nice to play against you and hopefully I can keep coming for a couple of years. Thanks to the organization, to the ATP… It’s nice to see someone like you, Larry (Larry Ellison, owner of the tournament), supporting tennis and supporting me”.

Next steps: “We can be proud of the work we’ve done and we have to keep training to keep going just as well and living the dream of these last two months.”

At a press conference, Nadal expanded his analysis and explanations.

The match: “Well, it’s been a difficult day. I congratulate Fritz. In the end that’s the main thing in tennis, that there is a winner and a loser. Today the winner is him. He deserves it. He played aggressive, well, so congratulations.” .

The struggle: “I do my best. It hasn’t been my day. But that happens. I have experience in all these situations. So it’s difficult to play a final like this. I tried until the end. That’s all. I even had my chances in the second set, I didn’t convert too many. That’s all. I think it’s a difficult match for me to analyze personally because I couldn’t do a lot of things. It’s a great victory for him. First Masters 1,000. Great day. Enjoy. I wish you all the best.”

Chest problem: “It happened last night, at the end of the match. I finished late yesterday and played during the day. As you can imagine, I didn’t get a chance to do a lot of things, not even check what was going on there. That’s all. What I can say is that it was difficult for me to breathe. I don’t know, when I try to breathe, it hurts and it’s very uncomfortable. But that’s all, although I don’t think this is the time to talk about it. Even when it’s obvious that I couldn’t do the normal things today… That’s all. It was a final and I tried. I lost against a great player. I think it’s not the day to talk about what happens to me. It’s his day. You don’t have to hide that in my comments.” .

The moment: “I wanted to make it perfect before the dirt. These weeks have been very, very, very beautiful. I’m sad because I couldn’t compete. It’s hard to have these feelings any day, but in a final it’s very, very ugly. In sport you have to talk about the past, we have to talk about today. And today is a difficult day for me, hard. Now I’m sad, but I’m not a person who goes up or down emotionally depending on the moment. Normally I’m stable, I put everything in perspective. Of course, the last two months have been incredible, unforgettable, very emotional. I enjoy things that I never thought I would be able to experience again a few months ago. It has been incredible. Now is the time to try to solve this problem as soon as possible, try to start on clay. Another part of the season begins that I enjoy. Of course, each event is very special for me. I hope to be ready- What worries me now is what is happening to me, what I have to do now to recover and how long he’s going to take me.”

Thoughts: “I was in pain, honestly. Like I said, I’m having trouble breathing. I don’t know if it’s something in my ribs, I don’t know yet. When I breathe, when I move, it’s like a needle all the time in here. I get a little dizzy because it’s painful. It’s a kind of pain that limits me a lot. It’s not just the pain, I don’t feel very good because it affects my breathing. More than sad because of the defeat, something I accepted immediately, and even before it was over the game, it’s more that I’m suffering a bit, really”.