Rafael Nadal spotted a change with the courts at the Swedish Open after reaching the quarter-finals.
The Spaniard is one of the most astute and observant players in tennis history and he has an eye for differences on clay courts in particular.
This week Nadal is playing on dirt he has not graced since 2005 but he made an impressive start to his campaign in Bastad.
He is still in singles and doubles competition and hopes to cap off the week with a title ahead of competing in his final Olympic Games.
What did Rafael Nadal say about the courts at the Swedish Open?
When Nadal arrived at the Bastad, he mentioned the court was slippery due to heavy amounts of rainfall.
The 38-year-old also mentioned that the conditions were heavy due to the overcast weather, but after beating Norrie, Nadal says the tournament’s courts are improving.
“The courts are courts. Ready to hold the rain and the tough weather. Over the last two days the courts in my opinion have been improving but the previous days has been raining quite a lot so the court is more slippery than usual,” Nadal began.
“But these courts allow you to keep playing tennis, because the courts hold the water very well. You can play but it is dangerous to play, that’s the truth.
“Today that’s not the case, for me the court was much worse the first day. Hopefully we can have some dry conditions and the courts can keep improving.”
Rafael Nadal assesses his performance against Cam Norrie after reaching Swedish Open quarter-finals
Nadal faced one of his toughest challenges of the season when took on Cam Norrie for a spot in the Swedish Open quarter-finals.
The Spaniard knew he had to raise his level and he did just that with a first serve win percentage of 74% helping him to take control of the vast majority of rallies. Despite trailing 1-4 in the second set, Nadal battled to win five straight games to claim a 6-4, 6-4 victory.
Commenting on how he completed the second set comeback, he said: “In the beginning of the second set, I was playing better than him. I had break points and was more in control, but I played a bad game and he played a good game and he broke me.
“So I said to myself, ‘OK, it’s 1-4, but it could be 4-1 for me too, so I just need to keep doing the things that I am doing’. I probably played a little bit more aggressive with my backhand, which I think at the end of the match worked a little bit better. That makes the difference. With the forehand I am quite happy, and with the serve too.”
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