“I was doubtful the 11 years I have been playing here, I won 9; doubts are good” – When Rafael Nadal spoke on shock French Open loss to Novak Djokovic

During a candid conversation, Rafael Nadal opened up about his unexpected loss to his long-time rival Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the French Open.

Given the fitting nickname of the ‘King of Clay,’ Nadal has been a dominant force at the French Open, claiming victory in his initial appearance at the Grand Slam event in 2005. He then went on to secure four consecutive wins at Roland Garros before experiencing a surprising defeat to Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009.

Despite the early exit, the Spaniard made a strong comeback and demonstrated his dominance in Paris by winning five consecutive titles from 2010 to 2014. As he entered the 2015 French Open as the defending champion, he easily advanced to the quarterfinals and faced a highly-anticipated match against Novak Djokovic.

On his 29th birthday, Nadal’s impressive 39-match winning streak at Roland Garros was brought to an end by Djokovic, who secured a dominant 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 victory over the Spaniard.

After his defeat, Rafael Nadal was questioned about his confidence going into the match. Despite this, the Spaniard revealed that he had always had doubts in all 11 of his French Open appearances, yet he still managed to come out on top in all but two instances.

“I was doubtful about myself the 11 years that I have been playing here. I won nine and I lost twice. Doubts are good in life,”he said in his post-match press conference.

“Some days the things are better. Some days the things are worse. When you play against an opponent that is winning almost every match like Novak and you are not playing enough consistent during the whole match, then is an option that this thing can happen,”he added.

The Serb’s victory prompted him to analyze his loss, as he expressed disappointment with his subpar performances in the first and third sets.

“Not happy about my first set, obviously. The second, yes. I was there. I lost a game. That’s it. Good fight in the first. Good fight in the second. In the third, I am not happy about the way, but I tried,”he said.

“A Tough Defeat”- Rafael Nadal Reflects on his Loss to Novak Djokovic at the 2015 French Open

Despite losing to Novak Djokovic, who was the top-ranked player at the time, Rafael Nadal firmly denied that it eased the pain of his defeat.

“As I said every year when I won here, the only thing that makes me happy is have the trophy with me. Doesn’t matter the opponent. Important thing is the victory and the title,”he said in the same press conference.

“Today I lost quarterfinals of Roland Garros. Is true that I lost against the best today, but that’s it. I lost in quarterfinals. At the end of the day, that’s it,”he added.

The Spaniard further affirmed that Djokovic was currently in the peak of his career and conveyed belief in the Serb’s potential to emerge victorious at the French Open.

“Well, he has to win two more matches, but this match only increase the confidence. He’s probably in the best moment of his career. He has a good chance to win here,”he said.

Despite Nadal’s prediction, Stan Wawrinka emerged victorious in the 2015 French Open final by defeating Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, earning his second Grand Slam title.