Rafael Nadal, who returned to tennis in February after a seven-month absence due to a knee injury, has reached the final of every tournament he’s played this season. After winning his fifth title of the year in Madrid, Nadal tells reporters he is playing better now than he was when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo final last month.
“If you ask me if I feel better today than Monte Carlo playing I will say probably yes,” he said. “My forehand is going faster; I am able to play more inside the court. I am serving well, more or less. I need a little bit more with my backhand; I need a little bit more with my movements. I need to keep finding a little bit more calm, more confidence on my movements.”
Nadal, who did not face a break point in sweeping Stanislas Wawrinka in the Madrid final, says he's pleased with his level of play, but must sharpen his movement.
“Today I was more confident than previous days, but I need more days like today. That's all,” Nadal said. “I am working hard to try to arrive to this feeling. I am not talking about winning, losing, or playing good, bad. When you are winning, it's because you are doing the right things. You cannot win playing bad tennis and you cannot win these kinds of tournaments playing bad. So I think I'm playing very well, but I need to be a little bit more confident on my movements.”