Rafael Nadal: I had chances in Australia and didn’t convert

Spanish tennis superstar Rafael Nadal revealed that he wasn’t bothered by his back against Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas during their Australian Open quarterfinal clash.

Nadal, who captured his lone Australian Open title in 2009, was scheduled to play the ATP Cup but he ended up skipping the whole event due to a back issue.

Nadal decided to play the Australian Open but after his first few wins at the tournament he noted that he was hampered by a back issue. After a round-of-16 win over Italian Fabio Fognini, Nadal said his back felt good and he was happy with the improvement in his condition.

On Wednesday, Nadal got off to a strong start to the match against Tsitsipas but he ended up blowing a two-set lead as the Greek won 3-6 2-6 7-6 (4) 6-4 7-5. “No problems with my back tonight,” Nadal said after losing to Tsitsipas, per Tennis Majors.

Nadal not feeling ‘unlucky’

Nadal, who tied Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slams after winning the French Open last year, was aiming to start the season on the best possible way and win it all at Melbourne Park.

“That’s sport. Sometimes things go well or worse. Unfortunaltely, I had more injuries in that tournament than others. I’m not feeling unlucky at all. Everyone has what one deserves. Tennis is a fair sport. I had chances here in Australia and didn’t convert,” Nadal said.

The situation in Australia wasn’t great for the players as many needed to quarantine and couldn’t practice the way they wanted. Nadal suggested he would have avoided back issues if he was able to train properly.

“For 20 days I wasn’t able to train like expected and couldn’t play ATP Cup. Maybe I would have been better physically. But I’m not complaining much. I was not fantastic but not bad, able to fight until the end,” Nadal said.