World No. 74 Zizou Bergs acknowledged that there was a mental hurdle to overcome when facing Rafael Nadal but also added that he noticed the Spaniard's level "was not the same as before" during their meeting.
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In May, the Belgian got a chance to play against the record 10-time Rome champion in what was likely the 38-year-old's last appearance at Foro Italico. And early in the match, the 25-year-old - who won two qualifying matches to reach the Rome main draw - went toe-to-toe with the greatest clay-courter ever and even won the first set with a 6-4 scoreline.
But after putting himself in a position to be a set away from claiming by far the biggest win of his career, Bergs failed to sustain the same level in the remainder of the match and Nadal went on to complete a 4-6 6-3 6-4 win.
"His average level is not the same as before. He is also a little slower," the world No. 74 told CLAY.
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Bergs on the challenge of playing Nadal on clay
In his interview, the Belgian noted that he first had to mentally prepare for facing the former world No. 1. Then, he had to think about how to try to neutralize the Spaniard's heavy forehand.
After making that clear, the 25-year-old was asked how it felt when he went to Nadal's backhand.
"He can also play very hard. These are two aspects of the rally that are relatively difficult to compete with. So it was more like, okay, it has to be important to get on the court a lot. You have to give yourself a chance, being technical, playing a little bit deeper. With his forehand the ball curves, but not with a great angle. He had some flashes, obviously, during the match where he really showed that he is one of the best in history," the Belgian explained.
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At the start of his post-hip surgery comeback, Nadal suffered an unfortunate hip injury and he didn't play for the next three months. Before coming to Rome, he played in Barcelona and Madrid - where it was pretty evident that he was afraid to go with his full strength.
With that in mind, Bergs entered their match optimistic that there might be a chance for him. And after going up by a set, it definitely looked like he might create an upset.
But then, Nadal started the second set with an early 3-0 lead and that was enough for him to force a decider where he also collected an early break and then just held on to his serve for the rest of the match.
"Luckily, the day we played in Rome, I wasnt intimidated by him, because I was prepared, I saw him doing it with other guys. Tennis players talk about it. Its something we worried about as soon as we knew we had to play Nadal. We visualized a lot of different scenarios. And at the beginning, it was like, okay, Im ready to beat my opponent. Even though he was doing his thing in the tunnel, you know. So I took my time to be really focused on myself. And to have the feeling that Im going to win the match. Otherwise, it would be impossible," the Belgian explained.
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Do you remember what Nadal said after beating Bergs?
As mentioned above, the 38-year-old was playing just his third tournament since coming back in Rome. And after struggling a lot before sealing a win over the world No. 74, the record 14-time French Open champion very honestly admitted that he didn't play well and that it wasn't the way he wanted to play.
"Well, today was not a good match for me. I mean, I didn't play the way that I really think I can play and I need to play," Nadal said.
While the Spaniard wasn't the happiest with his performance, he also acknowledged that he missed a lot of time in the last two years and that it wouldn't be right to set unfair expectations.
"No, I see it like a very positive today. Even if I didn't play well, that for me was a little bit in some ways surprising, in another hand not surprising because I didn't play much tennis for almost two years. I need to accept that my level, it's a little bit more on and off. It's not like used to be that was very stable everything. I need to find this stability again. Matches like today helps, no?" the former world No. 1 explained.
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Meanwhile, he hasn't played any tournaments since the Paris Olympics.
Because of that, some suspect that Nadal has already made his mind and that he won't be continuing his pro career.
