Rafael Nadal: Playing Four Five Sets Matches in Four Days, Not Fair
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Rafael Nadal voiced his displeasure again at the US Open scheduling. After a frustrated Nadal left the court on a wet Wednesday, Rafa returned today and finished off Gilles Muller in straight sets. But Nadal was still unhappy at the way the US Open has treated the players and forced them to play four five-set matches over the next four days.
“That’s not fair, but that’s what it is,” Nadal said. “Here in the Grand Slams, if I am in the position of the US Open or Wimbledon or Australia, Roland Garros, I will do the same. Why not? I had a lot of interesting meeting with the TV, with everybody, that for sure is better to have the final on Sunday for them. But not for the players, because our part of the draw will be in a very difficult situation for the player who will be in the final. The semifinals maybe, too, because two days in a row playing tough matches is difficult.
But the problem is we need to have the right representation in these tournaments,” he added. “I don’t know how, but things like this cannot happen. Having the semifinals on Saturday, you know, is something crazy for the players. Last year it was the final on Monday. So is something that in my opinion cannot happen, and the players are important part of the show.”
Nadal also addressed the issue with rain again. “The US Open is — probably more important is the US Open than the players, but the players are a big part of this show. The fans are a big part of this show. Yesterday you cannot like fans going on court for five, ten minutes, because never stops the rain. So the problem, in my opinion, is not the organization of the US Open. The problem is we don’t have enough power in these kind of tournaments. That’s what have to change very soon.”
On court Nadal put on a good show today. And through four rounds he hasn’t dropped a set. Tomorrow Rafa meets Andy Roddick who he leads 6-3. Roddick did beat Nadal in their first meeting at the US Open in 2004.
“Andy is a fantastic player,” Nadal said. “He’s having one of the best careers, being in the top players for, I don’t know, 11 years, 10 years, 9 years. That’s a lot. That’s amazing. So I have big respect for Andy, especially he’s very tough to be there for a long time and he did.”
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