“Lack of competition, lack of continuity,” Carlos Moya reveals the ‘real problem’ with Rafael Nadal

The Spaniard also pointed out lack of practice as the reason for his defeat.

“Lack of competition, lack of continuity,” Carlos Moya reveals the ‘real problem’ with Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Moya (Image via Imago)

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal bowed out of the 2024 Roland Garros in the first round as he lost to fourth seed Alexander Zverev. That defeat was shattering for his fans as they expected more from him. But those expectations were unreal considering the game time Nadal had before coming to Paris. Now, his coach Carlos Moya has talked about the problems that plagued the Spaniard’s success.

He has reasoned that lack of continuity and lack of competition affected Nadal’s performance at the Grand Slam tournament. As Nadal played only a handful of tournaments leading to the Roland Garros Moya claimed that the 37-year-old had to ramp up his preparations in a very short time.

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The coach also said that hours of practice proved insufficient as Nadal could not play at his 100% during his match against Zverev. Moya claimed that the 22-time Grand Slam champion was only playing at 80-85% of his powers.

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I would say he is at 80–85% of his best level at the moment. The problem is that he failed to sustain these highlights for long periods of time during the match. The lack of competition, the lack of continuity makes it very difficult to maintain this consistency at the best level today. We have come a long way. Since Barcelona, we have had to compress everything into a very short time. This is probably the period when we spent the most hours training. But it wasn't enough to win this first match in Paris.
Carlos Moya said about Rafael Nadal. (H/T: We Love Tennis)

Rafael Nadal expresses disappointment for not being able to win it in Paris

While Carlos Moya analyzed the aspects he should look at, Rafael Nadal expressed his disappointment at not being able to win it in his favorite tournament. After his loss to Alexander Zverev, the Spaniard said that he came into the 2024 Roland Garros with the belief that he could win the title. However, it did not happen.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Via Imago)

Nadal said that he had not felt this way going into any tournaments before the Grand Slam event and was confident about his chances. However, the 37-year-old was disappointed about not getting enough practice and claimed that it played a role in his defeat to the German tennis ace. 

I played a good match, taking into account how I arrived. At times I played well, really well. In other moments I made mistakes, but you can’t build a house in two days. Even though I played in previous tournaments, I had a week here practising without limits. That’s the reality, only the week before Roland Garros.
Rafael Nadal said about his defeat. (H/T: ATP Tour)

Notably, with this defeat, Nadal’s dream of lifting his 15th title at Roland Garros was shattered. Also, if it was his last match at the Grand Slam tournament, it was not a befitting end to a charismatic journey so far.

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