Rafael Nadal suffers Rio Open defeat to Pablo Cuevas

(Reuters) – Rafael Nadal’s below-par season has continued with the former world number one dumped from the Rio Open semi-finals with a 6-7(6) 7-6(3) 6-4 defeat by unseeded Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas on Saturday.

The top seed pipped Cuevas in a first set tie-break and denied his opponent two set points in the second but succumbed to his first defeat against the world number 45.

“I lost an opportunity, that’s it,” Rafa said after being denied his 100th ATP final by Cuevas who fired 48 winners to clinch the contest.

“I fought until the end. I have to accept it and keep working to try to change the dynamic. That’s what’s happening today and I have to work hard to change it,” added Rafa.

“I didn’t win a title, so it wasn’t a positive two tournaments. I had my chances in both. I lost in the semi-finals of both tournaments and just have to look forward to Indian Wells.”

Source: Reuters

103 comments

  1. I urge everyone to watch, if you haven’t already, Rafa’s “Hot Shot” against Almagro earlier in the tournament. A running forehand winner at full stretch from the far corner of the court. The flattest, hardest, deepest shot he hit the entire match. And from the worst possible position. He makes that shot, at best, every one out of four attempts. A very low percentage shot. A VERY LOW CONFIDENCE SHOT. And yet, he made it anyways, because he FULLY COMMITTED to it with his racquet acceleration and follow through(horizontal instead of vertical). Because he had no choice. It was his only chance to win the point. So he went for it. And made it. Which proves my earlier point that it’s NOT about confidence. It’s about commitment. It’s about courage. It’s about coaching. It’s about going for his shots like he used to. Without hesitation. Without fear. Without regret. Not just on Hail Mary shots like this one, but on every shot he has the opportunity to do so. His results and confidence will then take care of themselves. They will never take care of themselves if he continues to push, guide and bunt the ball like he has since late 2013.

    • Watch China open 2015 when rafa hit an amazing forehand down the line against novak as he earliet set himself for that forehand he got an amazing position to hit it

      Its all about confidence on shots……when u r not feeling confident ur hand ur body will not set for right position …

      I guess practice will make it perfect

    • Yes. It’s about coaching. Some newbie just wants to blame “the weather condition” and “mental problems” affected Rafa.

      Rafa has never improved his flat shot, net play, first serve since losing Lukas Rosol in Wimbledon 2012. Since then, he always loses to unknown guy in Wimbledon, But he isn’t not afraid of that. Wimbledon? Ok, that sounds good. No? We still have clay court season. That’s not a good attitude.

      In this age of 30 (come on, Rafa is going to be 30 VERY SOON, DON’T FOOL YOURSELF THAT IS HE IS 29 IDIOT) , a decent first serve would help him very much on holding the game. Look at what Federer did now. His shots may be shaky some moments in the match but he made it to final in many grandslam because of his first serve. Rafa needs to shorten points in his game not LENGTHEN them in the past. It just won’t work with his body now.

      And how the hell that you guys – so called fan are not aware of his slow footwork??? What’s the link to his confidence??? Is that a mental problem or a coaching one?

      Seriously guy, please have some basic tennis knowledge.

  2. I think rafa should play 1 set practice matches against good local player or any other.player and try to be in difficult situation and.play accordingly
    he.should do this for 15 days and should try to play 90 % on forehand side

    • Somebody really good should hit hard deep spin balls closely towards the baseline in practice for hours and Rafa should not be able to leave the court unless he plays 19 out of 20 balls back deep and hard, and not more than one foot from the baseline. This is the way he used to play. Those were the days, when commentators would get in the mood and yelled ‘He’s going for the lines here Nadaaaaaaal!’.

  3. Remember rafa there is a small difference batween a good player and a great player os that great player finds the solutions in important points …..when they find themselves in though position ……u are the example for many on how to play big points thats why u r a great player
    but this days it is not coming off …….
    so there is small difference u need to fill in

    Just work on finding correct position to hit forehands and on u r service game try to play as many forehands as u can …..dont play to much backhands

    Stay healthy and best luck for ur preparations

  4. Well, as J Beer commentated, there has never been so many comments on Rafas fan page, ever. I have contributed a couple already, so thought about another one. Rafa is playing some really good tennis BUT, it appears when the match is nearing conclusion, he seems to tighten up with neves? So my humble opinion is that when he gets to that position is to relax his body/mind and go for it, just like Verdasco did and others and the winners will come.

  5. OLA & VAMOS DEAR RAFA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) Enjoy your brief vacation & always knowing your fans are here, fully supportive & enchanted with your efforts & beautiful Tennis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) VAMOS SWEETHEART & lots of love & happiness to you & your magnificent TEAM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) Enjoy everything & KUDOS for all your fare doing to stay fit & top & competitive!!!!! God bless you DEAR RAFA & have a beautiful day! : )

  6. Nadal has been the cause of suffering for so many players on the tour, even Federer, Djoker, Murray, all the top guys. For very long he has been the rock that many waves crashed up against.

    Now, Rafa is the one suffering the losses, and he’s basically enjoying a dose of his own medicine. Everyone seems capable of forcing him to swallow these bitter pills.

    It’s actually beautiful if you think about it. Makes him seem more real. For us fans, it’s not pretty, and it’s hard to watch him go through this depressing state. Hopefully he can recover and become a rock again. But if that doesn’t happen, life goes on. And nothing can take away the memories this Rafa has created for us throughout the years. That’s life.

    But darn I hope he starts winning consistently again!!!

      • Probably on U tube, but do really want to watch Rafa being beaten again, I know I find it quite painful when he ‘nearly’ won again. I don’t know what to think now, I just hope he finds his mojo sometime soon.

  7. Dear Rafa, try to alter/modify your game. You were the standard for so many years. Your competitors have learned to play and win against you. Now you have to do the same and upgrade your game to beat your competitors again as you aren’t the standard anymore. Novak is the standard now. Analyze his game, take an extra coach (must be a Grand Slam winner!) besides your uncle Tony. There’s nothing wrong with your mentality or your physical capabilities. I still believe in your comeback to the no.1 position! Change your game and adjust it to your competitors as they have done with you for years! Always Rafa! Vamos Rafa!

  8. The amount of comments, the highest amount since his RG 14 win on this website, basically tells the story. 50% of the commentators now openly agree with MIOMO, Sosa and myself. The other 50% give strong statements too. We can conclude one thing, this last shock defeat has opened a lot of peoples eyes. Let it please also open the eyes of team Nadal.

  9. i dont want to think or say but i guess rafa focus is not completly on winning grandslam as now he has academy to run from last 2 years he is been promoting his academy
    Having avademy is good thing he will produce new futures

    But may be the not right time …….
    this 2 year rafa have one more thing to think and apply on and this was his academy …..so i feel the same attitude and the fous was drfting from rafa

  10. I havetaken time to read all the comments – everybody from the wise to the foolish, the Smart to the dumb, the tennis expert to the tennis neophyte are all uanimous (for the 1st time ever) – Rafa needs to either replace Toni outrightly or add to Toni & co.

    I beg to disagree. I think Rafa’s problems are basically motivationally-inspired. Afrer winning 14 GS, coupled with an injury-plagued career, he must have felt that he has done enough. And indeed Rafa has done enough. No other player (Novak, Andy, Roger, Stan or even past legends like Bjorn Borg, Mcenroe) has ever gone through the life odyssey that he has SUCCESSFULLY gone through. If Novak went through half of what Rafa went through, he would have long retired. Ditto Roger and the others. Rafa has not had it easy at all.

    Then again, we have to properly assess the impact of winning 9 French Open on an almost consecutive basis! Nobody has ever done that! And because nobody has ever achieved that feat before, we cannot compare the effect of such great achievement on the body, motivation and self will. If someone had achieved such before and the person went on to win other slams, then maybe we may be right in badly critising Rafa. But Rafa is alone in his world, alone in his sufferings. The FO is arguably the most difficult slam to win – even the ‘great’ Novak is yet to win one! And to good measure, but for Robin Solderling, Roger Federer might not have won A French Open title and no career slam to wit!!!

    So, to all those badly criticising and throwing insults at Rafa, please stop that! The wear and tear of winning 9 FO titles alone and then 14 slams is enough to drain out anybody. When someone does what nobody has ever done before, then he/she will also feel the positive/negative impact that no one has ever felt!

    Rafa, you’re a unique individual. One in a mega zillion. Djokovic, Roger etc CAN NEVER achieve a tenth of all that you achieved. But for Rafa, there would be no Djokovic, or an improved Federer and Andy. Rafa has popularised the Sports (just like Tiger Woods did to Golf or Mohammed Ali to Boxing) and has created so many super stars.hence the reason why everybody and anybody playing against Rafa ups their game.

    Rafa is truly the measure of Tennis just as Centigrade or Fahrenheit is the measure of temperature. Rafa, I doff my hat to you. You’re the greatest Tennis Player living or dead.

    And to all you unfair and myopic critics, now hear this: whether Rafa wins 3, 5, or 10 more slams doesn’t matter a dime. His name is already written in gold. Whether he does not win slam again or whether he retires tomorrow, it doesn’t matter a dime. His name is already written in gold all the same. Nothing ever will change that.

    • I have an opinion, you have an opinion, Rafa has an opinion. Rafa’s own opinion on how to tackle this endless downward slide differs from most people’s. But his own opinion on whether he should play on, if things stay as awful as they have been, is actually the same as my so very much disliked opinion: he indicated that he would quit and so he will.

    • you’ve read all the comments from the foolish, stupid and dumb, and yet it is obvious none as foolish, stupid and dumb as you, fruitcake! O_O

  11. with this kind of form, i do not see Rafa winning a title this season. A hard but true fact. Being a die hard fan, it breaks my heart to see him struggle this way. But i guess its time for me to accept that Rafa can no longer win titles and be at peace with myself.

  12. I have taken time to read all the 65 comments so far, but I’ve not seen anything from Mr. Truth himself, I mean the Deep Thinker. Virtually all that he has said/predicted about Rafa has come to pass. However, based on Rafa’s latest loss to Cuevas, here are my conclusions on Rafa and the solution to his current troubles:

    1. Rafa will not replace/add to Uncle Toni, which means we shall continue to see more of the same ”worn-out” defensive style. Whereas the best form of defence is ATTACK. Novak, unlike Rafa can at will turn defence into attack from any angle.

    2. Because Rafa will only continue to ”work hard to change the dynamics” without a complete overhaul of his entire outdated playing style, he is not likely to win matches again.

    3. Mark my words, 2016 will be far worse than 2015 or any other year. Not only will Rafa not win any tournament, he will dumped out early in the FO in May! Imagine what will happen to Rafa should he meet a Nick Kyrgios, for example, in the 1st round of the FO???
    Rafa’s winning days are indeed over as it were.

    4. The FO will be won by any of the following: Novak Djokovic, Milos Raonic or Nick Kyrgios.

    5. Novak will win Olympic Gold this year.

    But there is a solution for Rafa: Yes, Rafa CAN ONLY win again if he seeks Spiritual help. No human being made him or herself; we are all created by God. Hence it is the Spiritual that controls the physical. Rafa would not have won 9 FOs if God Himself did not allow it. And despite receiving so much unmerited favor from God Almighty, Rafa keeps denying His existence! Meanwhile, Serena attributes her successes to Jehova God and Novak confesses his christain faith even as he always wears a chain crucifix tucked underneath his t-shirt when playing on court.

    You cannot deny God continually and hope to continue to enjoy his mercies. Rafa needs to immediately go down on his knees and beg God for forgiveness. Thereafter, he should always say a short prayer before playing on court.

    If he can truly do these things now, then he win more GS title.

    But I’m sure he wont do it; so the way UP will continue ti be DOWN, DOWN and DOWN!!! This year’s FO may well be the archilles’s heel as a resounding humiliation awaits him. Infact, it is better he avoids playing the FO so as not to suffer the worst humiliation of his career on his famous hunting ground.

    A word is enough for the wise.

    • I think Rafa does believe in God regardless of what he may have said in the past – just watch him take a quick look up at the sky after some of his victories in the last few tournaments.

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