INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

September 20, 2020

Rafael Nadal

Press Conference

D. SCHWARTZMAN/R. Nadal

6-2, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What happened out there? Seemed like an extremely tough uphill match from the start.

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, have been not my night at all. He played a great match, I think. And not me.

So when this happens, you have to lose. These things can happen. After such a long time without competing, I played good two matches, and now today I played a bad one against a good opponent.

That's how it is. I just want to congratulate Diego, and I gonna keep working.

Q. Have you talked about your team about how you will now recover and prepare for the French Open in such a short time between two tournaments?

RAFAEL NADAL: No. Is a completely special year and unpredictable year. I don't know. I probably go back home and then let's see what's going on.

I did my job here. I did a couple things well and other things bad.

And that's it. At least I played three matches. I fighted until the end. But losing that many serves, you can't expect to win a match, no? Something that I have to fix.

I know how to do it. I gonna keep working and keep practicing with the right attitude and try to give me a chance to be ready.

Q. You talked about I think on Monday about the lack of matches. Did that play a factor tonight? Do you still feel like you're missing the amount of matches over these seven months that you hadn't played?

RAFAEL NADAL: We can find excuses, but I didn't play enough well. Then we have to think internally why, how I can fix it.

Now is not the moment to find excuses. Just the moment to accept that I didn't play enough well. Have been a super heavy evening in terms of humidity. Conditions out there was much heavier than the previous days in terms of the bounces of the ball.

For me was difficult to push him back. He did a great job. And even if it's beginning of the match, for me 2-1, Love-30, I played eight terrible points in a row.

So then from a possibility to be 3-1 with break up, I was 3-2 with break down. Everything changed later.

I tried hard in the second, but losing three times the serve in a row, then you need to find for a miracle, no? I did twice, but the third one, even if I was 15-30, was not possible.