What a match it was. I didn’t know Puerta but that guy was playing really well. Nadal was just a little bit more consistent and less nervy. Puerta broke Nadal a couple of times in the 4th set but immediately lost his serve in the next game. The essence in tennis I think is to hold serve at least right after breaking the opponent’s serve, because it psychologically can kill the opponent. But Puerta was not able to.

But he was tired - he had played long matches in the past two rounds and was just not able to continue playing 110% every point against a guy who was hitting at the same level throughout the match.

In any case, good match. Loved to watch excellent tennis.


Rafael Nadal and Mariano Puerta at the French Open - picture from FrenchOpen.org.