I was tired, admits Nadal after loss to Murray

Updated on: 16 February,2009 08:18 AM IST |
AFP |

World No 1 Rafael Nadal suffered another knee injury worry as he slipped to a 3-6, 6-4, 0-6 defeat to Britain's Andy Murray in the Rotterdam Open yesterday.

World No 1 Rafael Nadal suffered another knee injury worry as he slipped to a 3-6, 6-4, 0-6 defeat to Britain's Andy Murray in the Rotterdam Open yesterday.

The fourth-ranked Scot, who won his second title of 2009, admitted that the knee injury which struck the Spaniard in the second set and which Nadal refused to discuss took the sparkle off the final.

"I'm happy with the week but not especially with the way that it ended," said Murray, who also won in Doha in January against Nadal.

"I can't be disappointed with how I was playing. I knew something was wrong with Rafa as he took about 30kph off of his serve in the second set.

Good reason
"But he was hitting so hard that it was rushing me. That was part of the reason for all of the breaks.

"I could see him shaking his head. But he's not the kind of guy who's going to stop chasing the ball unless there's a good reason. He said that he sometimes has a knee problem when he plays a lot on hard court."

But, Nadal refused his injury had any bearing on the one-hour, 50-minute match.

"I came here tired from the Australian Open, but this was still a very important result for me," said the World No 1.

"I have to look at the positive. This was a good week for me, especially to reach this final."

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels