Andy Murray has heavily praised
Rafael Nadal for the way he quickly recovered after a fall to get up and go again against Zizou Bergs at the
Rome Open.
Nadal slipped and fell after Bergs sent his return deep, but the tennis legend refused to give up and let Bergs just have the point. He jumped up and without a moments notice continued to dice. He took charge and then finished it off with a drop shot.
He went on to hold serve and claim the break in the next before closing out the win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 as he will next face Hubert Hurkacz in the second round of the latest ATP 1000. Murray who received heavy praise yesterday from Nadal about his role in the Big Three era will like Nadal retire this season. He is set to return next week signing up both to the Geneva Open and a challenger in Bordeaux.
Presumably what he will pick depends on how his body fares up. He is attempting to play Roland Garros in a bid to get some semblance of clay court preparation in for the Olympic Games. Murray will likely look to end his career on the courts of Paris as opposed to Wimbledon where it would be initially thought he would get his farewell. Nadal berated his display after defeating Bergs while also continuing to gain confidence of his ability ahead of Roland Garros.
“I think the best athletes/players are the quickest thinkers and this is perfect illustration of this," said Murray on social media platform X.
“Notice how Rafa gets up from the fall… Sees that the incoming ball is slow enough that he will reach it so takes a split second to wipe his right hand on his thigh in case he needs it to hit a backhand later in the point."
