Rafael Nadal insists he was not struggling with injury as he crashed out of the Australian Open but acknowledged a lack of match practice could have contributed to his quarter-final collapse against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The 20-time grand slam champion was dealing with a back issue at the start of the tournament, although he managed to advance to the last eight without dropping a set.
That impressive run appeared set to continue as Nadal won the opening two sets against fifth seed Tsitsipas, only for the match to turn on its head after a tie-break in the third
Tsitsipas emerged a 3-6 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 7-5 winner after just over four hours, becoming only the second player – after Fabio Fognini – to triumph from two sets down against Nadal at a major.
Post-match questions put to Nadal predictably centred on the potential impact of his back woe, but he insisted there was no physical pain on Wednesday.
However, reflecting on "just another story in my tennis career", the Spaniard repeatedly referred to the difficulty of preparing for a tournament amid such problems.
"I think I was in great condition before here," he said. "Then I've been a bit unfortunate for what happened for 20 days, and then I fight back to play, I think, decent tennis.
"Today wasn't enough. It was close, just that's tennis. That's all. That's the sport. One player wins; the other loses.
"Today I lost, so the only thing that I can do is try to be better next time, and today congratulate him."
Claiming the key was instead two costly mini-breaks in the breaker, Nadal added: "I am not complaining much.
"I think physically, it has been a very humid day out there. Physically I was not fantastic but not bad, you know? I was able to fight until the end, and that's it.
"The whole issue is I missed an easy smash at the beginning of the third, an easy forehand with 2-1 in the tie-break, and then another smash in that tie-break.
"That tie-break I made a couple of mistakes that I can't make to win the match. He played well then later. Well done."
Nadal was chasing a record-breaking 21st major championship, yet only one of those triumphs has come in Melbourne – back in 2009.
The 34-year-old has lost four finals, as well as regularly dealing with injury concerns at the first slam of the season.
But asked if he felt "cursed", he responded firmly: "No. No, no, no. That's sport. Sometimes things go well; other times things goes worse.
"Unfortunately for me, in this tournament, I had more injuries than in the others. Then matches that you lose like today against one of the best players of the world is something that happens.
"No, no, no. Not at all feeling unlucky for me and not at all complaining about my luck here in Australia.
"Everyone has what we deserve. Tennis isn't a sport that is fair. I have what I deserved in my career, and over here in Australia I had chances, but I was not able to convert it. That's all. I didn't deserve more."
Use of the word "unlucky" brought a similar response, as Nadal insisted he was not looking for excuses.
"We can find excuses or reasons or maybe this quarantine that we need to be more time in the room than usual, yes, maybe," he said. "But I am not the guy that is going to find excuses on that or going to complain about what happened, no.
"Just accept. I never considered myself an unlucky person at all. It doesn't matter the injuries that I had. I think I am very lucky person.
"The only thing that I can do is just keep going. I put myself in a position, even with the challenges that I faced, that I was in quarter-finals with two sets up, close to being in the semi-finals.
"So, it has been a chance lost, yes, but life continues. I hope to keep having chances. Well, I'm going to keep fighting for it."
'Not my goal at all' - Djokovic not committing to ATP Finals appearance
Novak Djokovic "can't say" if he will compete in the upcoming ATP Finals in November as he becomes more selective about which tournaments he participates in.
The Serbian has struggled with injuries and a lack of form in 2024, and he will finish a calendar year without a grand slam title for the first time since 2017.
His last major triumph came at the US Open last year, but he failed to defend his crown, suffering a shock early exit to Alexei Popyrin in the third round at Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic is just one grand slam trophy away from becoming the outright record holder, currently sitting level with Margaret Court on 24 titles.
He reached the Wimbledon final in July, only to lose out to Carlos Alcaraz, though he did win his first Olympic gold in Paris by beating the Spaniard the following month.
The 37-year-old is currently representing Serbia at the Davis Cup and stressed that he will be prioritising certain tournaments over others.
"Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings etc," he told Serbian reporters after beating Greece's Ioannis Xilas on Saturday.
"As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play other tournaments this year or in the future, I can't say right now.
"My main priorities are playing for the national team and slams, everything else is less important.
"Weeks like these represent another motivation, they inspire me to keep going, they awake those butterflies in my belly.
"I thought that I would never have to seek motivation anywhere, it all used to come naturally – automatically – but that has not been the case in the last few years.
"In order to prolong my career, I need to enjoy, I need to choose wisely tournaments I am going to play."
Following the Davis Cup, Djokovic will play in an exhibition tournament in Sofia and in the ATP 1000 event in Shanghai at the start of October.
"After that [Shanghai], I am going to see what I am going to do," Djokovic added.
"Usually in my career I used to have my schedule ready six months in advance, but nowadays, that's not the case. Now it's more spontaneous.
"Firstly, I need to physically, emotionally and mentally rest in order to even start thinking what I want to do next, in what way, how much and where."
Djokovic keeps Serbia on track as Ruud seals Norway win
Novak Djokovic marked his return to action with a dominant 6-0 6-1 victory over Greece's Ioannis Xilas to put Serbia in control of the Davis Cup tie.
The 24-time major winner was playing his first match since his US Open third-round defeat by Alexei Popyrin at Flushing Meadows a fortnight ago.
And Djokovic, who helped his nation win the Davis Cup in 2010, looked close to his best as he dropped just a single game, while converting five of the seven break points he forced.
Wrapping up a dominant victory in just 45 minutes, he put Serbia 2-0 to the good in the World Group I tie.
Elsewhere in that group, Casper Ruud helped Norway wrap up a 3-1 win over Portugal.
The three-time major finalist, who put his nation 2-1 to the good alongside Viktor Durasovic in the doubles rubber, was a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victor over Jaime Faria in their singles clash.
Later in the day, Argentina booked their place in the final eight after Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni saw off Finland in the doubles decider.
Nadal unsure of future involvements after Laver Cup withdrawal
Rafael Nadal says he cannot commit himself to future tournaments after his withdrawal from the Laver Cup.
Nadal shared news on Thursday that he would not make an appearance at the annual event in Berlin, stating that it would not be in the best interests of Team Europe if he were to participate.
The Spaniard was last in action playing doubles at the Paris Olympics with Carlos Alcaraz, and while he says he is in a good space mentally, he was not able to confirm when he would next make a professional appearance on a tennis court.
He said: "Mentally, I’m good, no problems. I'm at home enjoying other things, training as much as I can every day.
"No drama, obviously these are decisions [the Laver Cup withdrawal] that are being made, and this was a possibility - it's been a while without competing. There will be someone else who can do better.
"Right now I’m not in a position to put myself down for anything.
"I said [I would play] until the Olympics and then we would see, and I'm in that period of rest."
Nadal has endured a difficult 2024 so far, playing just 21 competitive singles matches with a record of 13-8.
He has only one grand slam victory to his name this year, beating Jack Draper in the Australian Open, but he lost in the first round of the French Open to eventual finalist Alexander Zverev.
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