Toni Nadal insists Rafael Nadal’s straight sets defeat to Tomas Berdych is no tragedy and that the Spaniard will respond to it the only way he knows how – by working hard.
Nadal’s uncle and coach, Toni, admits the world No3 started the tournament lacking confidence but that it grew as he advanced through the rounds and that entering the clash with Berdych, Nadal was in “perfect form”.
But Toni has no real explanation for Nadal’s poor level against Berdych in the opening two sets.
“Before the match I thought we were in perfect form because in the last match Rafa played very well against Kevin Anderson,” said Toni.
“I thought he could play well against Berdych. At the beginning he didn’t play well enough, he had problems with his backhand… it was a bad match.
“He played bad and when he reacted, he reacted too late.”
Nadal hasn’t lost to Berdych in his last 17 meetings with the Czech but Toni doesn’t think the No7 seed has done anything differently to end that dismal streak.
“I don’t think that Berdych changed anything in his approach, I think he played his game and faced a Rafa who played bad in the first two sets. And when Rafa reacted the way we had hoped he would react, it became a tough match for both, the same as in previous years,” he explained.
“Being down two sets was too big of a gap. We lost the match in the first two sets.
“The truth is that Rafael served bad, he felt a bit nervous and had some double faults. And Berdych came out with the idea not to rally much and to attack more.”
Nadal is expected to start training again next Monday in preparation for the clay tournaments in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires (starting February 16 and 23).
While this was one of the heaviest defeats Nadal has suffered in his grand slam career – only two other players have bageled him at a major, Roger Federer in Wimbledon 2006 and Andy Roddick in US Open 2004 – Toni is not worried about how his nephew will rebound from this.
“The same way we always react to a loss. By working. It’s not a big problem,” said Toni.
“We’ve lost many times in quarter-finals here, and not one time have we lost here and we’ve lost in Roland Garros.
“It’s never a big problem in sport, things change quickly. Sometimes you are on the top and sometimes at the bottom.
“I never see it as a tragedy when we lose. For example, a few weeks ago, Madrid seemed invincible and Barcelona were a disaster and now tell me… Who is playing better? Barcelona.
“The same happened with Federer in Shanghai. He faced four match points against Leonardo Mayer and then he beat Novak Djokovic playing at a great level and he won the tournament.”
