Afterward, Nadal admitted there have been “a lot of things going on” in his life recently, but he credited Paul’s play and said there were some positives to take away from the performance.
“I had my match in that second set with set and break,” he said. “I played terrible game there. I didn’t deserve the victory playing that bad in that key moment, no.
“Until that moment was OK, a good match for me. Knowing that’s my first match since a while.”
The biggest issue, according to Rafa, is all the time he’s been away from the sport this year, due to his various injuries. His two-month on, two-month off schedule caught up with him tonight. He needs matches, yes, but he also needs the practices that come with them. He says he plans to play at the ATP Finals in Turin, and get off to a strong start in 2023.
“At the end I need days on the tour, you know,” Nadal said. “It’s true that for the last five months I didn’t spend enough days on the tour.
“I don’t even say competing on a tennis court. I say on the tour. Practicing with the guys. That’s what I need.”
And how about Tommy Paul? Like Fritz and Tiafoe before him, Paul has been looking for a top-tier win like this. Will it take launch him to a new level, the way it did his countrymen?
For now, all Paul can do is come back and try to do it again tomorrow, against Pablo Carreño Busta.