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Rafael Nadal looking down

‘I feel like I can lose every match,’ admits Rafael Nadal despite immense success


Rafael Nadal has admitted that he ‘feels like he can lose every match’ he plays despite his incredible record.

No man has won more Grand Slam titles than Nadal, who equalled Roger Federer’s record of 20 earlier this year at Roland Garros.

However, he says he still has too much humility, as well as some self-doubt, to allow himself to expect to win.

“To be honest with you, inside I feel like I can lose every game I play on the tour,” Nadal told Pablo Matos.

“I am confident in my abilities and my chances of winning, but I don’t tell myself that I have a 100% chance of winning.

“The second I lose the match, my mind is 100% negative. Of course it depends on the importance of the match.

“But in general, I speak with my team, I analyse what was badly done, well done, then 5 minutes later I think about what we will have to work and improve in the future to find solutions.”


Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.