Well he's played better, hasn't he??
Rafa elected to receive and went 30-0 up but soon lost his way in the first set against David Ferrer as his tentative serving resulted in David racing to a 5-0 lead. Rafa then found a little bit of form to win 3 games, but David still ran out the first set winner by 6-3.
He then made a racy start to the second and went 4-0 up and although Rafa won a couple of games, David ran out the easy winner by 6-2 in the second. David will face him tomorrow as he brushed aside Feds by a 6-2, 6-1 scoreline, which means another Fedal meeting in the lucky losers spot.
Rafa had this to say ...
"I knew before coming here that I was not ready to win a match against David Ferrer, not to win a match against Djokovic or Federer. But I am ready to spend hours on court without risk of injury. That is the most important thing. I need this transition, hours of practice. If I am here, I will probably have a better feeling for Doha.
The positive thing is that I spent over an hour on court against a player who is playing with fantastic rhythm. I said before that I arrived without my best preparation, so the most important thing is that this match helped me improve. That's the perfect practice to keep improving a bit.
His (Ferrer's) level of legs, his movement was much better than mine today.
My shoulder is better, but the problem is when you have any injury with the shoulder, all the muscles around lose all the power.
I felt OK, not perfect but OK, but I need a little bit more power for everything. A little bit more confidence with the shoulder to hit the balls with enough power, to hurt the opponent. I need time for that. You always play a little bit scared of the injury and I need time to play without thinking about that."
Rafa also admitted to playing with a slightly heavier racket which he said he was still adjusting to.
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