 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
Hard road to recovery Underconfident Norman falls to Costa in first roundPosted: Monday August 26, 2002 5:03 PMNEW YORK (Reuters) -- Woefully short of confidence, Magnus Norman suffered a painful first round defeat at the U.S. Open on Monday, succumbing in four sets to French Open champion Albert Costa. The Swede, struggling to return from hip surgery, looked a shadow of the player who in 2000 reached No. 2 in the world and the Roland Garros final. There are many things to improve, he says. Big things. "Yeah, I have some big things to work on, big things to improve. I'm pretty far off my form," he conceded after falling 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to the Spanish baseliner. "My shots are the same, I think, but my position is different -- I am more defensive. "I play like two meters behind the baseline instead of on the baseline like I did two years ago. "I just don't have the same confidence. When it gets tight in a match I tend to be defensive instead of aggressive. "When it comes to a guy like Costa you've got to take your chances because he's not going to give you anything. It is just a matter of confidence I think." And confidence is something in short supply, the Swede said. "It has been very tough, you know? Seven months after the surgery and it has been like hell. "I am happy to be back but it has been a real struggle. It is very hard to find the confidence. "I will just leave now. I don't know where but I think I will go to Tashkent and play the quallies."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
|
|||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
