Nadal On 'Positive Path' Despite Madrid Defeat

Different season, same match-up, same result. For the second consecutive year, home favourite Rafael Nadal clashed with rival Andy Murray at the Mutua Madrid Open and once again it was the Scot prevailing in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.

Despite the defeat, Nadal pointed to positive signs in his game during this European clay-court season that has galvanised the Spaniard. Nadal witnessed his win streak come to a halt at 13, following back-to-back titles at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and in Barcelona, and the 29 year old looks to that strong run of form as motivation for the coming weeks.

“I think I had another positive week,” the World No. 5 said. “I made it to the semi-finals. I’ve been very consistent every week. This is good news. Today, mentally I was okay. I fought a lot until the end. I tried to look for solutions and I think I did that, but it wasn’t enough.

“I’m competitive. I’m second in the [Emirates ATP Race To London] because I’m competing. But the same way I lost, if you look at what happened out there, I could have won. You have to criticise yourself to be able to do things better. You have to criticise yourself to get better and better.

“I’m on a positive path. I hope to continue on this path. I feel happy competing. I’m comfortable. Also when I train, I train with a lot of joy to continue going this way.”

Nadal will look to cap a dominant five-week stretch on the ATP World Tour when the Spaniard returns to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia next week. The seven-time champion has a tall order ahead of him in Rome, having been drawn into the same quarter as top seed Novak Djokovic, with #NextGen star Nick Kyrgios, Milos Raonic and Gael Monfils also looming large. But the Spaniard says he feels little pressure returning to his happy hunting ground.

“You feel happy when you have less pressure. When you feel good you don’t have so much pressure on you. We still have two tournaments in the clay-court season and I achieved more [Emirates ATP Rankings] points than last year on clay. So this is something that we’ve seen.

“Also, the feeling that I have when I play in the court and the consistency that I’m showing and general level, it’s superior compared to last year’s. In these tournaments, I have been able to win two, and one making it to the semi-finals, so the clay season is great. Let’s try to continue this way and stay with the rhythm.”