Rafael Nadal believes that he didn't play with enough 'confidence and intensity' to beat Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open today.
The Spaniard, who won the Grand Slam in Melbourne back in 2009, suffered a 6-2 6-0 7-6(5) defeat to Berdych, who will face either Andy Murray or Nick Kyrgios in the semi-final.
"I'm feeling okay," Nadal told reporters. "[It] just was not my day. It was a day that my opponent played better than me.
"Before the third set, I didn't play with the right confidence, the right intensity, losing court, playing very short. This is just the beginning of the season. I need to be ready to accept all the possible situations.
"You have to play well to play against a guy like Berdych. He's a top player and today he played better than me."
Prior to today's result, Berdych had lost to Nadal in their last 17 meetings.