Veteran Rafael Nadal was delighted after his convincing 6-4, 6-4 win in the round of 16 against Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the Bastad Open on Thursday. The Spaniard took the first set convincingly but trailed by 1-4 in the second set.
However, the 22-time Slam champion won five games in a row to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Nadal was happy with his performance but feels he needs to improve and he could be on the right path if he plays regularly on the tour. The Spaniard is making a return after first-round loss against Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros.
“Great feelings. I’ve been a while without playing on the Tour, since Roland Garros. To have the chance to compete well against a great player like Cameron is a great feeling,” said Nadal in his on-court interview. “I think I played in some moments good tennis, in some moments I need to play a little bit more aggressive, but that is part of the journey today.
“I haven’t been competing very often, so matches and victories like today help. To be in rhythm the whole match and hold the pressure on the opponent the whole match, that’s something that I need to improve, because I didn’t play enough.”
Nadal admitted that Norrie was a little bit better than him in the initial stage of the match but he found a way to bounce back.
“I feel that in some way at the beginning of the match he was a little bit better than me, because he was winning his serve quite easy, and my serve I was suffering a little bit more,” said Nadal. “But I was the player who got the break. Then in the beginning of the second set, I was playing better than him. I had break points and was more in control, but I played a bad game and he played a good game and he broke me.
“So I said to myself, ‘OK, it’s 1-4, but it could be 4-1 for me too, so I just need to keep doing the things that I am doing’. I probably played a little bit more aggressive with my backhand, which I think at the end of the match worked a little bit better. That makes the difference. With the forehand I am quite happy, and with the serve too.”
Nadal will next take on fourth seed Mariano Navone in the quarter-finals and admitted he will have his work cut out against an in-form player.
“He’s a player that is playing so well this year, winning a lot of matches, especially on clay,” said Nadal of the World No. 36 Navone. “It is the quarter-finals of an historic event on the Tour like Bastad. You can’t expect an easy opponent. I am just focused on keeping improving every single day, trying to play every day. I know it is going to be a tough one, but I really hope to play good tennis and give myself chances.”
