Rafael Nadal says he was unhappy with the way he competed in the first and second sets against Tomas Berdych in the Australian Open quarterfinals. The Spaniard criticized his performance in the a 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 (5) loss, saying he did not hit the ball deep enough against the big-hitting Czech.
"Is obvious that I needed something more to be more competitive, as I did in the third. The third was the right set, the right game that I have to play. But is obvious that before I didn't play with the right confidence, with the right intensity," he said. "Since the beginning of the third, I played with more character, more the way that I have to play to have chances to be where I want to be."
Nadal praised Berdych's performance, but added that he did not pressure his opponent for most of the match. "In the third, yes, I was able to maintain the rhythm of the ball, to try to put one more ball inside," he said. "If I'm able to do that for two hours and a half, three hours, then he can feel the pressure, he can feel more tired when he's going for the shots. But the real thing, I tested him for one hour, for a set. For the rest of the thing I didn't test him in general."
Nadal denied having physical issues and would not say what he had taken during the match. "That's part of the things that happen sometimes during the matches, but nothing important to say," he said.
However, the world No. 3, who needed five sets to get through the second round, attributed his up-and-down play to his recent inactivity. His injury-plagued 2014 season was followed by an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi and an opening-round defeat in Doha.
"Is not a bad result at all for me arriving here the way I arrived: only with one match, only with five matches in seven months," he said. "So taking the positive part, that's the thing that I have to take."