Nadal's Troubles Took Nothing Away From The Performance Of Tsonga

Rafael Nadal has put the loss that saw him crash out of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the group stage in London to tiredness and a loss of passion.

The world number two's thrashing at the hands of Roger Federer on Tuesday had put him into a straight shoot-out with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the second semi-final place, but he was outgunned from the start and slumped to a 7-6 (7/3) 4-6 6-3 defeat.
It has been a difficult year for Nadal, who went into 2011 on the crest of a wave after winning three successive grand slam titles but has been thoroughly usurped by Novak Djokovic.
Six final defeats by the Serb, including at Wimbledon and the US Open, have certainly taken their toll mentally, while a loss to Florian Mayer in Shanghai last month prompted him to take a month off to get his body and mind right.
Indoors is certainly the surface that suits his game least, but the manner in which he was beaten by Federer on Tuesday coupled with the rather meek third-set surrender will give plenty of cause for concern for Nadal and his team.
The Spaniard said: "Probably I had a little bit less passion for the game probably because I was a little bit more tired than usual.
"I'm happy how I practised the last three weeks. That's the truth. I'm very happy I have the right attitude to play tennis. That's important because I was in the right way. But to compete I wasn't in the right way.
"We can find excuses, we can find problems, but it is not the moment to say that. It is the moment to keep fighting.
"I had a good season. I'm happy for that. I'm not happy about a few things during the season. And now is the moment to analyse a little bit more what I did good, what I did bad, and know what I have to practise for the next month.
"That's what I dream, to try to arrive in 2012 in very good condition, and I am going to practise and I am going to do everything in my hands to be perfect for the beginning of 2012.
"This end of the year wasn't easy for me. That's hard to accept. But at the same time that's given me a little bit more of a goal for the beginning of 2012.
"My desire is there. My motivation I hope is the same. I will do it. If it's not enough, it's not going to be enough. But I will be satisfied with myself."
It always looked a tough task on Thursday against a player as powerful as Tsonga, for whom the conditions are ideal, and it was the Frenchman who dominated the opening set.
Nadal did well to force a tie-break but there was nothing he could do to prevent Tsonga winning that, the sixth seed sealing it with an ace.
A real feature of his play was his skill and agility at the net, which contributed to a match tally of 46 winners - 32 more than his opponent.
Even when he is not playing at this best, Nadal is still a very difficult player to put away because of his sheer determination, and he levelled things up with the first break of the match.
The Spaniard now looked the favourite but instead of growing in strength he faded badly and surrendered his serve three times as Tsonga reached the semi-finals for the first time.
The season is not over for Nadal, who will now head to Seville for next weekend's Davis Cup final against Argentina, and he must hope his beloved clay will provide some comfort.
"I think I didn't play well tonight [Thursday]," said the 10-time grand slam champion.
"The first two sets I didn't play bad, but I didn't play well, and to win these kind of matches you have to play well.
"I was solid but too slow with the legs. The forehand didn't have enough to cause him pain.
"When I felt the match was a little bit more to me than to him, at the beginning of the third, I played a little bit too anxious to win that match.
"If the two first sets weren't bad, but weren't good, the third was a disaster."
Nadal's troubles took nothing away from the performance of Tsonga, who said: "Tonight [Thursday] I just played amazing tennis. I was really aggressive. I had a good percentage of winners. I put a lot of pressure on him."
The 26-year-old revealed he prepared for the match by watching some of his matches from his breakthrough tournament at the 2008 Australian Open, when he beat Nadal in the semi-finals before losing to Djokovic.
He added: "I said, 'Wow!' Before I had a lot of energy and I was running faster, I was hitting harder, but I was crazy on the court.
"I think this year I just improved that. I'm maybe less fast, less powerful, but I'm better in my head."
Earlier, Roger Federer made it 15 successive victories in a dead rubber against Mardy Fish while Friday sees the conclusion of the action in Group A, with world number one Novak Djokovic and Czech Tomas Berdych both hoping to take the last remaining semi-final spot.

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