Rafa Nadal refused to make excuses for his shock defeat by Diego Schwartzman in the quarter finals of the Italian Open, insisting that his focus is now on fine-tuning his game ahead of the French Open which begins on September 27.

The nine-time Rome champion looked well off the pace in his 6-2, 7-5 loss to the 15th-ranked Argentinel.

“We can find excuses, but I didn’t play well enough. Then we have to think internally, ‘Why? How I can fix it?’” the 34-year-old Spaniard told reporters. “Now is not the moment to find excuses. It’s just to accept that I didn’t play well enough.”

Nadal, who skipped the US Open owing to Covid-19 concerns, said he would regroup before heading to Paris, where he will bid for a record-extending 13th title.

“It’s a completely special and unpredictable year. I probably will go back home and then let’s see what’s going on,” the 19-time Grand Slam champion said.

“I did my job here. I did a couple things well and other things bad. I’m going to keep working and keep practising with the right attitude and try to give myself a chance to be ready.”