"I played very badly and I'm sad about it" - Rafael Nadal gives honest assessment of 'poor performance' in Nordea Open final loss to Nuno Borges

Rafael Nadal shared an honest assessment of his subpar performance in his loss to Nuno Borges in the 2024 Nordea Open final. The Spaniard admitted to running out of energy after a demanding week of tennis and acknowledged the need for significant improvements.

Nadal's fairytale run at the ATP 250 event in Bastad ended in a resounding defeat to Borges in the final. The Portuguese dominated the encounter, securing a clinical 6-3, 6-2 victory in 88 minutes to clinch his maiden tour-level title.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion was disheartened after his loss, acknowledging that Borges was the deserving winner. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Rafael Nadal conceded that he had played "very badly" and expressed discontent with his level.

"I have a lot of experience and I knew that things weren't going to be easy. I just have to accept everything that comes and keep working to improve. I played very badly and I'm sad about it, I find it difficult to play worse than I did today," he said (via Punto de Break).

"I felt drained of energy, something that can be normal because I hadn't competed for a long time for several consecutive days, and I also had long and intense matches. Nuno deserved to win, he played much better than me," he added.

Despite taking solace in his body withstanding the demands of his grueling week, the 38-year-old cited his physical and mental exhaustion as factors contributing to his "poor performance."

"I've always tried to find solutions, but the level has been far from what I should have shown. It's important for me that my body has endured the demands of the week, but physically and mentally I've run out of energy for today," he said.

"That may have been one of the reasons for my poor performance in the final, but I have a lot of things to analyse," he added.

Rafael Nadal: "I have to play much better tennis to be competitive, there are no excuses"

Rafael Nadal (Source: Getty)

Rafael Nadal conveyed his dissatisfaction with the level he displayed during his campaign in Bastad, especially given his initial optimism based on his promising training sessions.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion also shed light on his intention to "fix" his game, admitting that he needs to play "much better tennis" to be competitive.

"I came here with a very good feeling about my game because of what I was doing in training, but I have been unable to show it in the matches. I cannot say that I am satisfied with my tennis because the level of play has been very far from what I was doing in previous training sessions," he said.

"I have to find out why and try to fix it. I take away from here the message that I have to play much better tennis to be competitive, there are no excuses," he added.

Despite Nadal's concerns about his level, he can draw confidence from his run to the final of the claycourt event in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics. The Spaniard will soon commence his preparations for the prestigious event at Roland Garros, where he will be joined by doubles partner Carlos Alcaraz.