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Roberto Bautista Agut, 35, admits it is a bit strange being in a situation where he is losing more than winning. Bautista Agut, an 11-time ATP champion and a former world No 9, has 11 wins and 12 losses so far on the season.
Bautista Agut, who for many years was one of the most consistent players on the Tour, did well in January as he went 7-3 in Australia. Since Australia, Bautista Agut hasn't won back-to-back matches and all of his exits have come in early rounds.
In each of his last three tournaments - Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid - Bautista Agut won his opening match before losing in his next match. "I'm doing well, in Monte Carlo and Barcelona the feelings were already good, I competed at a good level.
Yes, it is true that in February and March I had two or three regular tournaments, but these are things that happen during the year. It may be the first time that it has happened to me consecutively, it has been a new situation for me that is not easy to bear when you experience it for the first time.
Now I feel good, I feel that I am in top shape," Bautista Agut told Punto de Break.
Bautista Agut explains the challenges he is facing
Over the last four months, Bautista Agut has had several tight losses. In February, Hubert Hurkacz edged out Bautista Agut 7-5 6-7 (7) 7-6 (4) in the Rotterdam first round.
That specific loss negatively impacted Bautista Agut, who felt that he loss despite playing "magnificent" in that match. "Every match is a story. In Rotterdam, for example, I lost 7-6 in the third set against Hurkacz, playing a magnificent match.
Being a very winning person, despite having played a great match, the feeling of losing in the first round hurts me. Instead of being a positive week, which it could have been, it ended up affecting me badly. You can have bad feelings and compete well, replace it with desire and competitiveness, or even inertia.
Or you can feel very good and not win, not everything is so easy," Bautista Agut explained. In Madrid, Bautista Agut defeated Quentin Halys before Karen Khachanov handed him a 7-5 4-6 6-3 loss.