Rafael Nadal says he wasn't able to see much of Novak Djokovic's match against Lorenzo Musetti because he was "playing Parcheesi"

Rafael Nadal missed most of Novak Djokovic's fourth-round win over Lorenzo Musetti because he was busy playing 'Parcheesi' (Note: Parchis or Parcheesi is the Spanish equivalent of the board game Ludo).

Novak Djokovic came from two sets down to beat Musetti 6-7 (7), 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-0 4-0 on Monday; the teenager retired due to injury in the fifth set. Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, had an easier time against Jannik Sinner, whom he beat 7-5, 6-3, 6-0.

Speaking to the media after his win over Sinner, Nadal revealed that he missed most of Djokovic's match apart from the latter half of the second set.

"I was not able to see much of Djokovic's game because I was playing Parcheesi," Nadal said. "I only saw from 4-4 in the second set until Musetti won the tiebreak."

Novak Djokovic in his match against Lorenzo Musetti

Rafael Nadal also spoke about the artificial lights that were put on during his match against Jannik Sinner, which was a bit surprising given his match took place during the afternoon session. The Mallorcan voiced his misgivings about the lights, saying that they bothered him while playing.

"I don't know why they put them on so soon," Nadal said. "They were bothering me. I asked the referee and he told me that they were on for TV. Before we played until nine o'clock without having to put on a light and [matches] were also on TV."

Diego Schwartzman comes with a special motivation after spending a while having a hard time: Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal will next face Diego Schwartzman

Rafael Nadal further stressed on the importance of improving his level now that he has reached the business end of Roland Garros. The 13-time champion believes he has shown immense improvement over the last four weeks, but he also admitted to having phases where his focus has been subpar.

"The closer you get to the final rounds, the more important it is to be well from start to finish," Rafael Nadal said. "The difficulty increases as is logical. I look good, I am doing a lot of things well in the last four weeks, from Rome, going through the training weeks and here in Paris this past week. Some things can be improved a little or rather to give more continuity to the good things. I have had phases of poor concentration. When that has not happened, I have shown a very high level."

Rafael Nadal will next face familiar foe Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinals, which will be a repeat of last year's semifinals. Although Nadal has rarely faced problems against the Argentine, leading him 10-1 in the head-to-head, the Spaniard insisted that Schwartzman will be far from an easy opponent.

"I have managed to beat a very difficult opponent in three sets and now Schwartzman is coming who is very complicated," Nadal said. "It is always like that with Diego. He comes with a special motivation after spending a while having a hard time."

---

Please help Sportskeeda improve its tennis coverage by taking this 30-second survey.