Rafael Nadal ready for big improvement on recent Wimbledon woes
Rafael Nadal is adamant that he will not be discouraged by the memory of recent Wimbledon woes as he prepares to follow up his landmark 10th French Open triumph with a third success on the sport’s most storied lawns. Nadal spurned the chance of a warm-up tournament at Queen’s Club to put less pressure on his body after his exertions at Roland Garros. He opted to fine tune his game in Mallorca instead.
Now, Spain’s two-times champion is determined to improve on a series of shock defeats he has suffered to unheralded opposition at Wimbledon since winning his last title in 2010 and reaching the final the following year. Nadal lost to Lukas Rosol in the second round in 2012 when struggling with knee problems, Steve Darcis in 2013 (first round), the then new boy Nick Kyrgios in 2014 (fourth round) and Dustin Brown in 2015 (second round) before missing last year with a wrist injury.
Yet he is adamant that the losses have not left a scar. “My motivation is always high in all the events that I play. If not, I am not playing,” said Nadal, whose victory in Paris took his grand slam total to 15. “It’s true that …read more