London - Rafael Nadal will quickly put aside his concluding defeat Friday at the ATP World Tour Finals, swallowing his 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 loss to Novak Djokovic and plowing ahead into next week's Davis Cup final at home against the Czech Republic. The world number two whose position is now threatened by the Serb, has bigger things on his mind, hoping to help his nation repeat as Davis Cup champions.
Nadal leaves for Barcelona without having won a set in three defeats. But he's not hanging his head.
"It's not very disappointing, no," he said. "It would be disappointing if you arrive here with the feeling that you have a big chance to win.
"But I didn't arrive here with that feeling. I know before the tournament that going to be really tough, difficult. But I tried. Every day I tried my best."
The four-time French Open winner who lifted his last title in the spring, said he will learn from his poor week indoors.
"If you lose, you have to learn with the victories and the losses - better with the victories.
"This tournament give me different feelings and the opportunity to see what I have to do to play better and to start the next year better.
"I'm not gonna say I'm not gonna start very well next year. But I see the what I have to do if I want to be more competitive in these kind of surfaces with players next year.
"The goal is try to play hard and arrive generally in perfect conditions."
After Davis Cup ends next weekend, Nadal will have only a few weeks before beginning the 2010 campaign on New Year's Eve in Abu Dhabi at an exhibition.
In the meantime, his off-season will be one of rest.
"The battery sometimes finishes and you have to buy another one," he said. "That's what I'm gonna do for next year. Recharge and practise hard.
"Only by practising you can come back to your best level. That's what I have done all my life. I'm gonna still do it.
"Practising hard, you can recover your physical performance a hundred percent. When you feel better physical, you can play more aggressive because you are not feeling tired.
"That's important. And, sure, recover the confidence on the shots.... later everything is easier."
