• ATP World Tour Finals

Davis Cup concern as Nadal admits to loss of passion

Rafael Nadal struggled in London © Getty Images

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Rafael Nadal has labelled his third-set performance against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga a "disaster", admitting he has doubts over his form ahead of the Davis Cup final after losing his passion for the game.

Nadal was dumped out of the ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday night following defeat to Tsonga in which the Spaniard rallied from a set down before capitulating in the third. It caps a bad week for Nadal after a heavy loss to Roger Federer earlier in the tournament.

The former world No. 1 conceded his top ranking to Novak Djokovic this year and, other than his triumph at the French Open, Nadal has had little else to celebrate in 2011. By his exceptional high standards it has been a poor 12 months, and Nadal admits his mind is not right.

"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," Nadal explained after defeat to Tsonga. "I played without nothing special.

"If the two first sets weren't bad, but weren't good [either], the third was a disaster. That's the truth. He's a dangerous player. For sure it's not easy to play against him, big serve, aggressive player. To play against these kind of players, you have to do something else and I didn't.

"Seriously I can talk one hour [about the reasons why]. It's because of a lot of things, because probably I had a little bit less passion for the game, probably because I was a little bit more tired than usual.

"I was happy how I practiced during the last three weeks. That's true. Very happy with the right attitude to play tennis. But to compete I wasn't in the right way. We can find excuses, we can find problems, but it's not the moment to say that."

Nadal must now turn his attention to Spain's Davis Cup final against Argentina, where he will be relied upon to guarantee two victories in his singles rubbers. Asked if he is confident he can recover his form in time, Nadal confessed he is unsure.

"We'll see. I don't know. I don't know," he answered. "That's completely different conditions. I'm going to be practicing for one week on clay. Even if I am not playing perfect, the surface helps me.

"I was a little bit slower than usual [in London], but I think I was a little bit slower than usual because my mind wasn't perfect, so the reaction was late. So on clay I have more time to think. The movements are a little bit easier for me.

"I'm going to have the right team there supporting me and practicing hard. I will try my best every day to try to win the Davis Cup for my country. [But] I'm lucky, if I'm not in the right conditions, the captain can choose another player."

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