CAMELOT FANTASIES

BNP PARIBAS OPEN 2015
Positive Nadal Moving In The Right Direction
Indian Wells, U.S.A.by ATP Staff 21.03.2015

Rafael Nadal was not down on himself following a three-set defeat to sixth-seed Milos Raonic in the BNP Paribas Open quarter-finals on Friday.
On the contrary. Despite squandering three match points for his first loss to the 24-year-old Canadian, the World No. 3 said he takes many positives from a strong week in Indian Wells. As Nadal continues to strive to return to his top form, he believes that close encounters like these will only help him down the road.

"In general, I played aggressive," the Spaniard reflected. "I played with determination, with the right attitude, playing good tennis.
"I lost, and I feel that I had a lot of chances to win. Let's keep working that way. As I said since the first week of the season, it is a process that I had to pass, and I am doing the normal process. The positive thing is during that process, sometimes with losses like I had few times in the last couple of weeks, maybe you are going down, but this is not my case. I think every week I am better. Every week I am more competitive. Every week I feel stronger, quicker on court again. My movements are good again.

"My focus on the match is becoming better every match. Today I was able to compete against a top player without a feeling that he was better than me. So that's a big improvement."

A three-time BNP Paribas Open champion, Nadal suffered his first defeat in six FedEx ATP Head2Head encounters against Raonic. For most, staring down the barrel of the big-hitting Canadian's serve for three hours would not be an enjoyable experience. Nadal, however, shared a different perspective.

"I enjoyed the match. I enjoyed being on court. I enjoyed suffering with his serve. I enjoyed trying to be very focused with my serve all the time. I think I did well. I enjoyed the fact that I felt well with myself on court again.

"I felt competitive. I felt strong, with the right energy. I lost that match thinking much more positive things than negative ones."
Nadal will next travel to Miami for the second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the year, the Miami Open presented by Itau. A four-time runner-up (2005, '08, '11, '14) he bids to lift his 28th Masters 1000 crown.