Really sad for the Nadal camp. It's not that he's just losing; Rafa is losing to his pigeons and turkeys.
And Almagro, though he played well at times, gave Nadal every chance to win. First in the second set, at 3-3, Nadal had at least 3 chances to break and Almagro somehow survived 4 deuces, and then wins the tiebreaker. Then Nadal up a break at 3-1 in the final set, collapses on his serve and doesn't win another game on serve. It seems he has a difficult time consolidating his breaks lately.
So passive on his serve, and he just looked a beaten man, instead of his usual fighter self.
What's next? Madrid is no haven for Nadal. But a good performance is needed somewhere. Rome is absolutely vital now for a turnaround.
But I'm starting to lean toward him not getting it done at Roland Garros if he plays anything like this. He wouldn't deserve it.
It's as bad a collapse on his play on clay as I've seen from Nadal. This is not Djokovic, or Federer, or even Wawrinka, this is Almagro, who had won a total of 2 sets and 0 matches in 10 tries before today.
It's starting to remind me of Federer's 2013 year.
Respectfully,
masterclass
It reminds me of the same thing. But even when Federer was going to his slump, I never thought he was finished. I think we forget what kind of pressure they're under to be expected to win all the time.
They need a break. They're only human, they can't live, eat, and breathe tennis 24-7.
Personally, this kind of stuff doesn't get me down. When Rafa is looking like he doesn't want to fight, or flubbing balls that he could've blown over the net, that tells me that he's tired.
He needs to take care of himself first and foremost. That's all I want for him.