Rafael Nadal explains why he was ‘quite sad’ during his match with Cam Norrie despite winning

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Rafael Nadal explained something he was disappointed with during his match with Cam Norrie at the Swedish Open.

The Spaniard claimed his fifth victory against the Brit by securing a 6-4, 6-4 win in Bastad to advance to just his second quarter-final of the season.

The 38-year-old continues to boost his preparation to compete at what is set to be the final Olympic Games of his career.

Winning his first title since the 2022 French Open will certainly boost Nadal’s confidence ahead of his return to Roland Garros, but he still has plenty of work to do.

What was Rafael Nadal upset about during his match with Cam Norrie at the Swedish Open?

Nadal produced some solid tennis in what Sky Sports commentators described as his “best performance of the season.”

The former World number one won 74% of points behind his first serve, which allowed him to get in position to dictate rallies.

However, Nadal was focused on when he went 4-1 down in the second set, despite winning five successive games to seal the victory.

“I was quite sad to lose that serve at 2-1 for 3-1 because at that moment, I felt that I was playing better than him,” he told reporters post-match.

“As I said in the beginning of the match he was playing better than me as I was suffering with my serve and he was able to win his serve easily.

“But in the second set it was completely the opposite, I was able to put pressure on him on every serve and I was feeling myself more in control on court than him. That was my feeling.”

Who does Rafael Nadal play next?

Nadal is still in both singles and doubles action at the Bastad Open.

He will face Argentina’s Mariano Navone, who is already into the world’s top 35 despite making his debut in February.

The 23-year-old reached two finals on the ATP Tour this season and after playing at the French Open seeded 31st, he became the first player to make their main draw Grand Slam debut as a seeded player.

In doubles, Nadal and Casper Ruud squeaked past Theo Arribage and Roman Safiullin in the quarter-finals and they will now go up against the all-Brazilian team of Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos.