Davidovich: "I've been beaten up, but I'm happy to leave"

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It couldn't be for Alejandro Davidovich, too much for him in this duel against Casper Ruud at the Mutua Madrid Open, although the defeat is not a drama. Hearing the Spaniard in the mixed zone reassures us that the best is yet to come.

And losing a match 6-3, 6-1 must hurt a lot. Imagine if it's also at home, in the Mutua Madrid Open, in front of one of the best in the draw. This was the experience on Monday for Alejandro Davidovich, completely overwhelmed by a much more inspired Casper Ruud. Minutes later, gathered with the press in the mixed zone, the Malagan player evaluated his participation in the tournament, leaning towards optimism and context. In his early steps after the injury, Davidovich is the first to know that this will be a long road, but that the steps are heading in the right direction.

Defeat against Casper Ruud

"I'm happy to have competed and been on the court without pain, but Casper is one of the best clay-court players and today he knew how to play me where I was weakest, with high shots and weight on both sides. Now that I have two weeks to train before Rome, we'll make the most of them. I didn't have much time to train here before debuting, so I'm happy to be back on tour, I missed it after a month."

What is the most challenging part after coming back from an injury?

"I lack confidence and rhythm, although it's true that each player plays you in a different way. Pablo (Carreño) played me flatter, but today Casper pushed me back, I couldn't find as much space, I was more uncomfortable. It's a matter of continuing to train and gaining that confidence, that strength. The idea is that if I face Casper again next week, I can play more my way."

Recoveries always proceed step by step

"I leave with a full cup... It's very easy to analyze it from the outside when you're coming back from an injury, in fact, I barely started serving from this Monday. I've done everything on my part, physically I'm fine and mentally fresh. We trained just enough, I didn't want to overdo it, we had to take it slowly. The other day I played a very good match, and today's match helps us see what we need to work on for the clay court swing. I'd like to see how many players can get a beating and say nothing. I'm happy to be here in Madrid, to play in front of all these people, although I'm also upset about the defeat. Overall, it's a positive week for being back on the circuit."

Pepo Clavet, new team member

"We started testing this week, a few weeks into this season, as I had everything organized with Mariano (Puerta) for the full schedule. Pepo is a very nice person, I liked him when I saw him with other players, although we haven't had much time here in Madrid. We'll try to learn from each other in the upcoming weeks of training."

Alejandro Davidovich, positive after losing in Madrid

"It was tough, I spent three weeks on a stretcher without training, but that's no excuse for today's match. I'll try to do better, I have a lot of training ahead, but now I have two weeks to do it. Taking advantage of being back at 100% physically, I'll try to do a sort of mini-preseason. I don't know who has had this injury, but I'm grateful that it only had me sidelined for a month and not half a year. This sport doesn't forgive you, it's all very close now, but I'm happy to leave here. Even though I was beaten badly, I'm happy because I know we're on the right path."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Davidovich: “Me han pegado una paliza, pero me voy contento”