Even when he wins, there's a "yes, but ..." with Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard bounced back from is disappointing quarterfinals exit at the French Open by winning the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart on Sunday with a straight-sets victory over Viktor Troicki.
Extra practice on grass gives Rafael Nadal a shot to win Wimbledon?
According to BBC.com, it was Nadal's first victory on grass since 2010 at Wimbledon.
Nadal was the event's top seed and expected to win. His rival in the finals was ranked 28th in the world, but will move up to No. 25 after reaching the final. The highest-ranked player Nadal faced at Stuttgart was No. 16 Gael Monfils. He also beat No. 24 Bernard Tomic on his way to his 66th title.
Still, finding the winner's circle, no matter the competition, was a welcome site for Rafa.
Billie Jean King tells Rafael Nadal to correct his thought process
"It's been a tough couple of years playing on grass, with problems in my knees," said Nadal, who last year lost his opening match at another German grass-court event in Halle and was beaten by young Australian Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round at Wimbledon, according to CNN.
"Today I'm ready to play again on grass, my knees are well and so is my tennis, so I'm very happy."
The other problem, which Nadal must have figured coming in was that he was playing in the Mercedes Cup, and one of his sponsors is auto rival Kia.
Nadal was presented with a yellow Mercedes as a prize for winning.
"It's not a Kia, but it's still good," Nadal said diplomatically after a brief inspection inside the garish yellow vehicle, winning huge laughs from the crowd, CNN reported.
"Will you drive it at home?" came the inevitable question.
Short silence. "Without the cameras around, perhaps yes," conceded the Spaniard, who has been sponsored by Kia for almost a decade, according to CNN. "I don't know if I can change the color, because the color is a little bit too much for me."
Nadal will go up against better competition next week at the Queen's Club Championship in London, where adversaries Stan Wawrinka, the reigning French Open champion, and Andy Murray await.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
