The Portuguese tennis player Nuno Borges regretted this Wednesday that he was “far below what he wanted to be” against the Argentine Diego Schwartzman, with whom he lost in the second round of Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam tournament of the season.
“I showed up in a physical condition that I did not expect. It’s true that I didn’t play that many best-of-five-set matches and I thought I was going to recover better than I did. “I started not believing that I could win. It’s time for the challenge and I have to think about what I could have done better, but I think it has to do with the preparation that has to be better for the next one,” she evaluated. the portuguese player
After beating American John Isner in five matches on the opening day, Nuno Borges, number one at the national level and 80th in the ATP ranking, was eliminated this Wednesday by El Peque, former top 10 in the world and current 95th in the ranking, by 7 -6 (7-3), 6-4 and 6-3, after two hours and 32 minutes.
“I could have started better in the first set, in which I was up, but there were many ups and downs in my game, many times I lost. It was very hot and I saw that things were complicated. I even recovered quite well. from muscle pain, I had two light days without training much, I wanted to be at 100% for today [quarta-feira], but I didn’t get it. I fell way short of what I wanted to be in a round like this, in a tournament like this,” she confessed.
The 26-year-old Maiato had defeated Schwartzan in the opening of the challenger in Phoenix in March, but in Paris he found a different opponent and with other weapons on clay, where he has already won three ATP titles, two times quarter finalist. (2018 and 2021) and once a semifinalist (2020) in the French major.
“Diego on clay is a bit different, but the conditions were good, not too slow. These balls aren’t the fastest, but they hold up well to long plays. I didn’t serve well and he, from the bottom of the field, “was comfortable. His standards don’t hurt too much, but during the game they start to weigh more and more. I made more and more mistakes and was less and less physically available. He took advantage of this situation well,” Borges explained.
Despite the farewell in the round of 16 of an individual team that is thus left without Portuguese representatives, the Portuguese has made a positive balance so far this season.
“I would have liked to have played in the semifinals, won games and gained confidence in the challengers, because winning games gives confidence. Here all matches are final. [John] Isner wasn’t thinking about the next game, I gave everything I had and paid the price, but it was a positive offseason. I got many good victories, I feel that my level is improving, but in Grand Slams I feel that I am still far from being ready to win a tournament like this”, concluded Nuno Borges.
Source: TSF
