Rafael Nadal says he is ‘physically destroyed’ following his roller-coaster win at the Australian Open where he rewrote the record books.
The former world No.1 battled valiantly for five hours and 24 minutes to defeat Daniil Medvedev in a win that saw him recover from two sets down. Nadal’s victory comes just weeks after he was facing the prospect of potentially being forced to retire from the sport due to a long-term foot condition. He suffers from Mueller-Weiss syndrome, which is a rare degenerative disease that causes a deformity of one of the bones in the central part of the foot.
“If we put everything together, the scenario, the momentum and what it means. Without a doubt it’s probably the biggest comeback of my tennis career,” Nadal told reporters following his latest win.
Nadal’s tally in the majors now stands at a record 21 with two of those being at the Australian Open. Prior to this year, he also triumphed at Melbourne Park back in 2009. In the other majors, he has won the French Open 13 times, US Open four times and Wimbledon twice.
Overtaking rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to become the most decorated male player in Grand Slam history, the inevitable debate surrounding who should be called the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) has been reignited. Not that it is of any interest to the Spaniard.
“I feel lucky to achieve one more very special thing in my tennis career. I don’t care much if I am the best of the history or not the best of the history. Honestly, I don’t care much,” he said.
“For me, it’s about enjoying nights like today (at the Australian Open). That means everything to me. It means even more to achieve the second Australian Open more than any other thing.”
Nadal says his ability to turn the match around was aided by the support of a highly animated crowd cheering him on at the Rod Laver Arena. Something which frustrated Medvedev, who later criticized the behaviour of some fans.
“It was a very emotional night. Even now I am destroyed physically. I can’t think much, I can’t remember a lot of moments of the match.” He reflected.
“The support of the crowd has been just huge. I got very emotional during the whole match. Even if I was super tired, I couldn’t celebrate with them as usual, but I felt it inside and all their support helped me a lot during the whole match.”
The 35-year-old has now played in six Australian Open finals in his career. After winning the title 13 years ago, he was forced to settle for runner up in 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019. Four out of those six matches have gone the full distance.
The question now is what does the future have in store for Nadal who says he has received a fresh burst of energy following his latest triumph. Mentally, he is raring to go, but only time will tell if his body is able to cope to the demands of the Tour throughout this season.
“I know things can change because my injury is difficult to fix, impossible really. But I was able to play for one month. That’s a lot, something unexpected, something that gives me plenty of energy to keep going.” Nadal explains.
“I just want to enjoy this moment and, of course, try to keep going.”
