Tennis

Nadal upbeat despite Djokovic defeat

Rafael Nadal may have lost to Novak Djokovic for the sixth successive time in crashing out of the BNP Paribas Open semi-finals, but the Spaniard believes it could be the start of his revival.

Nadal was beaten 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 by the Serb on Saturday as Djokovic marched on to another ATP final, the world number one set to face Milos Raonic for the title.

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However, Nadal was upbeat over his form in Indian Wells – where he is a three-time champion – and feels there were enough positives over the week for him to build on as the clay-court season moves closer.

“I am going to try to follow this to keep going at this level,” he said. “If I am able to play weeks in a row at this level, then I can start to think about competing for everything.

“I think I played well for a set and a half; then I think he played well the last part. I played bad again with my serve at 3-2, and then he finished playing well the last two games. He played at a higher level.

“I had my chances in the first set. I felt for a moment that I was competing at the highest level possible.

“I played well during the week. I won very interesting matches, good ones, fighting. [The match] was closer than the last couple of times against the best player of world, so was a very positive week for me.”

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