Nadal Says Forehand Needs to Improve

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Nadal Says Forehand Needs to Improve

Rafael Nadal says that he was satisfied with his first-round victory over Denis Istomin on Day 1, but the Spaniard adds that his forehand is still a sticking point. Hard to imagine that Nadal can improve on the forehand he hit to break Istomin in the sixth game of the third set, but 14-time Grand Slam champions tend to be perfectionists.

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“My serve worked well almost all the time,” Nadal said on Monday after defeating Istomin to set up a second-round clash with Andreas Seppi of Italy. “I am hitting very well the backhand, but it's true that the forehand I need time. I need confidence and I need to keep practicing the forehand, no?”

Nadal, who had a 73-day hiatus due to a torn wrist tendon, returned for the Olympic Games and won the gold in doubles while reaching the semifinals in singles.

“Is not easy to go two months-and-a-half out of competition in the middle of the season without hitting a forehand,” he said. “I need to have the confidence again with my wrist. That is coming, because I feel the wrist much better, and every day feel that the wrist a little bit better. That's very important thing for me.”

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