Rafael Nadal not worried by abdominal injury suffered before ATP Finals in London
"We can find reasons or excuses, but at the end of the day, what really matters is I need to play much better in two days"
Tuesday 12 November 2019 14:17, UK
World No 1 Rafael Nadal insists he is over the abdominal injury suffered in the lead-up to the ATP Finals at London's O2.
Nadal, who not for the first time arrived in London with his participation in doubt due to an abdominal injury, crashed 6-2 6-4 to the defending champion Alexander Zverev at the O2 on Monday.
But the 33-year-old, who was forced to pull out of the Paris Masters semi-finals just 10 days ago and has the Davis Cup to participate in next week, insisted he would play on at the tournament.
Sascha played well, and me, I played badly, honestly
Nadal said: "It was not a problem with the abdominal [injury] at all. I did not feel pain.
"I'm happy with the way the abdominal held up, and hopefully I can continue like this, because it's true that I was not able to practice a lot so there has been a lot of effort on that part of the body since last Saturday.
"It's been a positive thing today. Hopefully I can keep going, and hopefully I can practice a little bit more tomorrow.
"We had to do things step-by-step, taking a lot of precautions in my movement that we have been doing since last Saturday, and today I'm fine. So the physical issue was not an excuse at all. The only excuse is I was not good enough tonight.
"Sascha played well, and me, I played badly, honestly. We can find reasons or excuses, but at the end of the day, what all really matters is I need to play much better in two days."
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