Nadal: Small things make the difference

Rafael Nadal says that comments he made last summer about having to improve some areas of his game in order to stay with No. 1 Novak Djokovic came more from the heart than from his head.

"I said this when I lose some finals and you cannot expect to be perfect and your opponent is not going to be perfect all the time and when you are losing finals like I did last year and one this year you have to control of your emotions when you lose and win," he told reporters in Rome. "Nothing is terrible when you lose and fantastic when you win and you just find the right point and keep working and keep winning and be competitive in every tournament and work every day and accept the loss because in this sport you always will lose – you finish 3rd or 5th or you lose in the semi or the quarter or the finals, You win only one but it is normal that you lose and be you need to be patient to wait for you moment and I accept my losses and to keep being competitive… And you win a few points and this is the difference. You don’t need to find great things – it is the small things that make difference."