Verdasco: “I couldn’t beat Federer, but still Nadal has been my toughest rival”

Fernando Verdasco lives one of the most unusual seasons since competing on the ATP circuit. The Madrid tennis player has had to face a series of injuries that have prevented him from competing, for which he has fallen places in the rankings until he left the Top-100 after 18 years.

Verdasco, who this week competed in the Challenger Alicante Ferrero, gave an interview to the specialized tennis portal Punto de Break in which he reviewed his current situation. “It’s hard to get out of the Top-100 after almost 18 years, it’s hard not to be in Indian Wells but there is no solution. I have discussed it with my team and I have to be thankful for having had such an extensive career, much longer than most and without any major injuries. At 37 years old, it is bad luck to have two operations in the same season. Even if it was not serious, it leaves you with little rhythm of matches and confidence and I can only play the games that my ranking allows me to “.

Verdasco wanted to compare his current situation with the one he suffered between 2011 and 2013, when injuries forced him out of the Top-10 after a long run of results. “When I came out of the Top-10 it was, in part, due to physical problems with my wrist and knee from late 2011 to 2013, when I played with a lot of bandages and pain. The Top-10 has the requirement that, as soon as you have a minimum problem, you go out. Right now I’m in a difficult situation, but I really like playing tennis and I’m doing everything I can to get back. I’m not saying I’m Top-10, but I’m trying to regain the level of play of years ago. These last weeks the geese have not gone well and I have to accept it, but I keep training hard and I feel better, putting in many hours of training and dedication. When my body is better, I will be competitive again and return to the Top-100. “

A streak that began after winning the 2008 Davis Cup against Argentina, which was a leap in quality for Verdasco. “The 2008 Davis Cup gave me a great morale boost, it made me have more confidence in myself. I trained very well in Las Vegas and I went with great confidence to Australia and the streak continued until Cincinnati. I had made the quarter-finals in every 1,000 Masters up to then in 2009. I had never had that continuity and I think it all started in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. That made me improve the ranking and avoid the best in the first rounds. In fact, people don’t believe it, but I played the game against Rafa at the Australian Open 2009 with a fissure in the fibula of my ankle, which was dragging from the quarter-final match with Murray. I played for the excitement of the first Grand Slam semifinal, also against Nadal, who was number 1 in the world. At first I was in pain but already hot I didn’t notice anything. After the game, I didn’t leave Australia for two days because I couldn’t even walk. “

The Madrilenian also wanted to get wet about who has been his most difficult rival in the years he has played on the circuit. “Nadal is the toughest opponent I have faced. I have beaten him three times, yes, but he is the toughest. Federer I could not beat him. In fact he is the only one I have not beaten of the big four, but also he was the one I played the least against. I have beaten Rafa, Murray and Djokovic at times, but I never could with Federer. The closest I got was at the London Masters with 6-4, 4-4 and two break balls, but they escaped me and there is no going back. Cwith Rafa I had to play up to 14 times to beat him for the first time. Maybe if I had played 14 times with Roger I would have won him one … If they are all 100%, I think Rafa demands one more step from you both physically and mentally “

In fact, Verdasco went through a similar situation in the 2009 season, when he managed to rub shoulders with the great rackets of the world.. “Being 100% I thought I could beat anyone. In 2009, when I made the semifinals in Australia, I saw that I could beat Rafa, Roger, Murray or whatever. At that point in my career I felt like I could beat everyone. “