Ramos-Vinolas Already Looking Ahead

Albert Ramos-Vinolas was disappointed to lose in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final on Sunday, but was full of praise for Rafael Nadal after the match.

The 15th seed enjoyed a dream run to the championship match, scoring wins over World No. 1 Andy Murray and fifth seed Marin Cilic, among other impressive victories. Ramos-Vinolas admitted that the mental and physical toll of the week had left him spent, but that beating Nadal would have been a tall task even at his peak.

“I think that he was a little bit better in everything. He has a little bit more power than me. When he’s a little bit better in everything, it’s what we saw in the match,” said Ramos-Vinolas. “But tennis is like this. You have some days with results you didn’t expect, then you come back to reality. Today he put me back to reality.”

Despite the loss, Ramos-Vinolas will reach the Top 20 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time on Monday. Displaying impressive stamina to withstand three consecutive three-set matches to reach the final, in addition to showing greater power from the baseline, the Spaniard is eager to continue moving up the rankings and knows he will have to add even more to his arsenal.

“That’s what I have to do during today and tomorrow, figure out exactly what I did good and what can I improve,” said Ramos-Vinolas. “For sure everybody, not just me, can improve a lot of things. Obviously my serve is not my best shot, but I think I served a little bit worse than normally today.”

Ramos-Vinolas is already turning his attention to the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, where he is seeded 10th. He’ll welcome the first-round bye and an extra day to recover from his Monte-Carlo run, but said he’s ready for another big week in Barcelona.

“Nobody likes to play a final and lose 6-1, 6-3. But I know how it is. I know that I have another tournament. I have to keep going. I will try to have my feedback with the good things that I did this week,” said Ramos-Vinolas. “Obviously this week is my best result. Not today, but maybe tomorrow I will be proud of myself, and I will restart again for the next tournament.”