Rafael Nadal vows to return with a bang

Rafael Nadal ran himself to the point of exhaustion in Monday’s US Open final against Novak Djokovic then ran out of answers. The Spaniard knew his best chance of beating Djokovic was to wear him down, so he chased everything he could to keep him on court as long as possible in the hope his Serbian opponent would run out of gas.

Part of his plan worked. Their final lasted four hours and 10 minutes and by the end, Djokovic was gasping for air and feeling his aches and pains. “It was a tough match, physically, mentally, everything,” Nadal said. “I fought until the last point. I tried my best at every moment. I am happy with a lot of things, much happier than the previous matches against him.”

It was another painful for loss for the Spaniard, who was on top of the world 12 months ago when he beat Djokovic in New York to complete his collection of Grand Slam titles.

“I had my chances, I really had my chances,” Nadal said. “You know what? I go back home knowing that I am on the way.”
Nadal said he still had no real idea about how he could end his losing streak against Djokovic but was more motivated than ever to find a solution. “I like to fight, I want to enjoy this battle against him,” Nadal said.

“Six straight loses, for sure that’s painful but I’m going to work every day until that changes. So I have a goal. It’s going to be tough to change the situation, but the goal is easy to see.”