• French Open

I'm not playing well enough to win the French Open - Nadal

ESPN staff
May 30, 2011
Rafael Nadal admits he is making too many errors © Getty Images
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Rafael Nadal has admitted he needs to improve his game significantly if he is to defend his French Open title.

The world No. 1 reached the quarter-finals after a straight-sets victory over Ivan Ljubicic, but the Spaniard was far from satisfied with his performance.

Nadal got off to a slow start against Ljubicic, but although it was not a flawless performance from the defending champion, he never looked in danger of defeat.

"I played badly, then I was much better and he started to make a lot of mistakes," Nadal admitted.

"I'm not playing well enough to win this tournament. Sometimes I still make a few mistakes in a row and this cannot happen again."

The world No. 1 knows he will face a tougher test in the shape of quarter-final opponent Robin Soderling, who is the only player to have beaten Nadal at Roland Garros. However, Ljubicic believes Soderling will have his work cut out against Nadal.

"The first set I'm sure there were points where he felt like he could have played better but I think now he has four matches under his belt and if he manages to win the next one he's back in business, confidence wise," Ljubicic said.

"I think today's match is going to give him quite a lot of confidence. When he relaxed after the first set he played high-level tennis."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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