Rafael Nadal: This Was A Very, Very Important Title For Me [Video]

by Tom Gainey | August 2nd, 2015, 1:08 pm
  • 15 Comments

After all the struggles, Rafael Nadal picked up the biggest win of his season beating Fabio Fognini 75, 75 to win the Hamburg 500 event.

“I lost the last two times against him, so I knew it was going to be a tough one,” said Nadal. “I think I had a great attitude the whole match, very positive, fighting for every ball. I had some tough moments on court, lost opportunities, but every time I came back and I kept fighting with the right mentality. I’m very happy for the victory. It is an important victory for me.”

With renewed confidence, Nadal now will head to North America for the Canadian Open in Montreal on August 10.


“Now the hard-court season is starting, it’s a different story,” said Nadal. “But at the same time, I’ll keep going with the same mentality and this title helps to be a little bit more calm and add some points to my [Emirates ATP] Ranking to try to finish the year in the Top 8 again.”


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15 Comments for Rafael Nadal: This Was A Very, Very Important Title For Me [Video]

Gypsy Gal Says:

Hopefully this will act as a nice confidence boost ahead of the HC season….


sienna Says:

Money wise it certainly is important. it keeps him in winner circle. Sponsors need to identify with winners.No other way for him to look at this title.


Andrew Says:

The 2nd hard court season should see Rafa gain some valuable points as he has very little to defend.


Andrew Says:

The hard court season should see Rafa gain some valuable points as he has little to defend.


Sivaji Says:

First time after FO 2014, Nadal won consecutive five wins. Kudos.. Vamos Rafa


tennismonger Says:

Yes, yes, Rafa’s attitude was encouraging, especially down set points in the 2nd…but Foggy’s collapse was beyond the pale –

Might not be pretty when he encounters a hungry young gun on the hard courts later this month…


jalep Says:

@tennismonger

Agree about Fabio’s collapse. Not that winning the match was a given or anything but the match should have gone to 3 sets. That 2nd set was Fabs for the taking, he was serving for it. Pitiful…

But Rafa fans waited a long time for that win. Have to believe he’ll raise his level on hc. We’ll see soon!


Patson Says:

Sometimes, you have to win ugly. Novak, for instance, wasn’t at his best when he won against Berdych in Monte Carlo. You have to fight it out; however, such matches should be the exception rather than the norm. I think the next step for Nadal would be to deliver a master-class performance against a top 10 player in the coming hard-court season. He will have to be more effective with his serve if he wants to beat the top guys. Hamburg hardly tested that aspect of his game; everybody was getting broken left and right because of how slow the court was.

Good luck to him.


tennismonger Says:

Rafa can have that effect on people (make them want to collapse!), so overall, an encouraging result.

Didn’t realize that the Hamburg clay was so slow, but that would explain why some points seemed so…slow ;-)

All said, I still love the way Foggy sort of controls the volume knob when he plays, guiding the ball around relatively slow & then going for a kill shot. No mean feat on the clay – he’s a veritable eye-talian Milos Mecir!

Now Rafa needs to up that mph on serve & groundies to make an impression on the hard courts but at the same time, not hurt himself.

Hope he can bully his way back into the top 5 at least – it’s where he belongs!


Mary Says:

Nice posts by Patson and tennismonger. I know Patson is not a Rafa fan so a big thank you to him for his good wishes!


Mary Says:

If Fabio had been emotionally stable he would be at least top 10.


Patson Says:

@Mary

Thank you for acknowledging my post. At the end of the day, we’re all tennis fans, and that’s what matters.


Mary Says:

Patson, I think you must be a very nice person in real life. You are right, we are all tennis fans and that’s all that matters. I respect those who defend their own player but take issue with those who make all kinds of baseless allegations against other posters’ heroes.
The position of I love my man is good. The position of I hate your man is bad.


Okiegal Says:

@Patson 9:41
@tennismonger 9:56

I agree with you guys about his serve. It wasn’t as effective as it was in Stuttgart. I believe when he changes something in his serve to try to hit more aces he hurts something. He said in a pre tourney interview he had a problem with his shoulder when he was practicing at home after Stuttgart. But you could definitely tell something was off with his serve, 7 dubs in one match……Bottom line, serve has got to get more powerful……..There was some great shots between him and Fabio. I thought it was a great match. I’m so glad it wasn’t a 3peat for the Italian Stallion!

Thanks Patson for the encouraging words regarding Rafa. You are right, at the end of the day we are a group of people who enjoy tennis!


Okiegal Says:

@Mary ^^^^^ Great post, agree with you 150%!!

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