Another round another struggle in the opening set for Rafa.
The King of Clay has been struggling a lot in the opening sets this year in Paris to lose all of them in the first 2 matches and to be 2-4 down against Fognini. This time Rafa did regroup before losing the opener to recover the deficit and win the first set 7-5.
The next 2 sets were quite easier, but Rafa wasn’t pleased with his tennis.
From Rafa
A not 100% Rafa said “I have to play better. If I want to have any chance, I really need to play better. But it is always the same story. When you win without playing your best, you have the chance to play better. If you don’t fight when you have tough days or negative days, then you don’t have all the chances for the future.
So it’s important to stay humble these kind of days, stay with the right mentality, be positive, and accept in every moment all the difficulties that comes and try to win.”
Next vs. Nishikori
Rafa will play Nishikori in the next round. The Japanese beat Paire 6-3 6-7(3) 6-4 6-1. Head to head is 4-0 for Rafa. This will be the first match on clay.
