Despite reaching the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open for the ninth time at Indian Wells, Rafael Nadal isn't having a ball. But injuries have nothing to do with it.
Tennis.com reported that the No. 3 player in the world railed against tennis-ball maker Penn over the dramatic difference in the way its balls play at nighttime, compared to during the day.
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"With a normal ball during day and night there is differences, but with that ball is completely dramatic how the things change," he said. "During the day especially the ball is very, like you are touching a stone. There is no feeling."
Because of the large disparity in the way the balls play between day and night, Nadal couldn't hide his frustration over his play.
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"I think the players said what they have to say. Is not new, Nadal said to reporters after the game. Something that happens since a while," he said. "I didn't understand very well, because the brand that is making that ball they say now is a new ball, but still bad and I don't understand why. Because if it's a new brand creating new ball, you can understand that they make not a bad ball. But the same brand five years ago had a great ball, very good ball. Is difficult to understand why today they are not able to do it."
The fluctuation has not affected Nadal, who has lost only six games in each of his three matches. Against Gilles Simon in the third round, Nadal said he played well in a 6-2, 6-4 win - except for two service games in which the Spaniard said he did not play well - although he did not directly blame the ball for those.
Andy Murray agreed with Nadal's assessment.
"I don't know if it's only the balls," Murray said, according to tennis.com. "I think it's probably a combination of a few things. You know, for me, the balls don't feel as lively ... when I play at 9:30 in the morning or in the evening they don't feel as lively, but then during the day it's ridiculous how high they bounce and how quick they move through the air and jump off the court. They said they made some changes to the balls. I don't know how much of a difference they made."
Nadal's grumblings, however, are far different than the problems he had in the second half of last year when injuries derailed his season. If he's complaining about a ball, rather than his body, it could be a very good sign for him.
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