Rafael Nadal isn’t confident about World Tour Finals after suffering Paris Masters defeat
Rafael Nadal says his Paris Masters semi-final defeat to Kei Nishikori was his biggest moment at a grand slam in 2015, admitting he has struggled with nerves since before the tournament.
Nadal, who has won five Grand Slams, lost 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5) to 21-year-old Kei Nishikori after taking a set off the Japanese world number one in the second set. The outcome was the first time in Paris that Nadal had lost a semi-final at the event.
“It was a tough semi-final. The first set went okay, the second was tough,” Nadal said. “I feel it was my biggest semi-final at a grand slam.
“Last year in Rome I had a tough semi-final in the third round, then I faced the great Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the semi-finals and lost in a tie-break, which was tough, because that’s not what the fans want.
“You can always feel like you’re playing against someone great, you know, but now it’s different because you don’t want to lose, you don’t want to feel happy, but in this year we didn’t meet the expectations that we usually do in grand slams, so it’s a great shame because I played two great matches and won in Rome and won in Monte Carlo and now this.
“Obviously this is a bad result. I know how long I can play this sport, but this is a really big disappointment.”
Nadal has played three of the past four meetings between the duo at majors, with the other, at Wimbledon last year, seeing him beaten in all three sets.
“To lose in a semi-final in Paris is really bad. Sometimes in the matches you win, you lose, you lose a point here