“It is the most unexpected title of my career, an unforgettable day”

“I haven’t drunk alcohol in the last four months (laughs).” This is how Nadal started in his press conference when he was given a glass of champagne to toast in the press room after coming back two sets from Medvedev in the Australian Open final to lift his 21st Grand Slam title. “It’s late. 21 Grand Slam titles, what an epic match,” said Craig Tiley, tournament director. “Thank you, Craig,” Nadal replied. “You made us all proud. It’s going to be something we’ll never, ever forget. Congratulations to you (the journalists) too. Thank you all for being here at 2:40 in the morning.”, added the leader, who had a few bad days due to the conflict with Djokovic. Afterwards, the champion answered a good battery of questions in English and Spanish.

Do you think this is one of the greatest feats in the history of sport?

It is the most unexpected title of my career and one of the most exciting for everything I have experienced in recent months. I am not going to say if it is one of the greatest feats in sport, that is not for me to analyze, but I am aware of the difficulty that the process has had. The final had a bit of everything. There has been a total critical moment, with the 0-40 in the third, although it is no less true that in the second I have had many options to take it. It has happened again with 5-4 in the fifth set and 30-0. It has escaped me and that has been hard to accept, but what I couldn’t do was stop fighting.

You are now the leader in Grand Slam titles, what value do you place on that?

Novak, Roger and I have fulfilled our dreams. I hope I end up being the one with the most, but if it doesn’t happen, good for the others because my career is infinitely superior to what I would have imagined. At this moment in history I am the one who has the most, but one cannot constantly be looking at what others have. Obviously I would like to finish the race as the one who has the most, but it is true that for me it has not been an obsession.

What did you think after the last point?

I was so devastated I couldn’t even celebrate. In the end I don’t even know what I did, I don’t remember how I celebrated it, but the emotion was great because of how the game had gone. The public has been amazing, it has no name. I couldn’t celebrate much with them because I was devastated, I usually get them more involved. Within me it has been vital, it will be unforgettable.

Are you aware of what you mean to millions of Spaniards and hundreds of millions of Spanish speakers?

The affection that I receive from Spaniards and Latinos means a lot. The only thing I can say is thank you and that helps me a lot to continue. I have always felt valued and loved in Spain, it is an incredible feeling.

It is your biggest comeback in a Grand Slam final, how have you seen it?

Everything came together, the stage, the momentum, what it means. Yes, it was probably the biggest comeback of my career.

Down two sets and with three break points in the sixth game of the third, how could he top that?

Well I do not know. The situation was critical. But the sport is unpredictable, especially if you fight to the end. The normal thing would have been to lose the match in three sets after that situation. On the other hand, I also had a great opportunity in the second. I was repeating myself throughout the game, I lost many times here having opportunities, with a bit of bad luck. I just wanted to keep the faith until the end, give myself a chance. That ‘s what I did. Fight, try to find a solution. Of course, I was lucky. There were many moments that could decide the final. It has been unforgettable. I feel very lucky. At the same time, I think I fought a lot and worked a lot to try to get back on tour and give myself the opportunity to continue playing tennis.

The numbers now say that you are the best of all time. What do you think about that?

No, I don’t want to change my point of view, honestly. Of course, it’s amazing for me to achieve another Grand Slam at this point in my career. It means a lot to me. Of course I know it’s a special number 21. I know what it means and it’s big. But from my point of view I believe what I said the other day. It is an unforgettable day. I will never say that I deserve it, because I believe that many people fight and many people who deserve it. But I really think I have a very positive spirit. In the last six months, I really fought hard to try to get back. They have been very, very hard times. Conversations, hard, not knowing if I could come back But, yes, I am honored. I feel lucky to get another title. It is something very special in my career. I don’t really care if I’m the best in history or not. Honestly today it doesn’t matter much. For me it’s about enjoying nights like this. That means everything to me. It means even more to win the second Australian Open, more than anything else.

Is this the greatest achievement of your career considering everything you’ve been through?

It is the most unexpected, without a doubt. And the most surprising I think for everyone. For you too, I guess. For me especially. Because I know how I got here. It has been a very emotional night. Even now that I’m physically devastated and can’t think much, I don’t really remember many moments of the match. I do recognize the support of the people that has been enormous. I was very emotional throughout the match. I almost couldn’t celebrate with them like always, but feeling it inside, all the support, helped me a lot during the match.

Medvedev says that he had a lot of problems with the public and that affected him. How did you see it on the other side of the net?

I do not know. I think Daniil is a great champion. He accepted defeat very well. I can only thank him because it has been a very hard night for him. I know how hard it is to be in his position after all the opportunities he had. He was kind to me. He understood how emotional I was and how important this match and this title was for me. He was very nice at the end of the game. I don’t know if the people affected him. It’s better to have her on your side. But I really think he has a great future. He will feel this affection from the public in the future, because he deserves it.

He often says that he has to suffer to win the big games. With the foot and the time it was out, are you suffering even more than usual?

I was not physically prepared for these types of battles, honestly. I didn’t train enough to be ready for that. But tonight has been very special. Say everything I have inside. I’m super tired in every way. I couldn’t even celebrate it. But it was the day to give everything and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the fight, the emotions. In the end, having this trophy with me means everything. I can not be happier. I just want to recover a little and enjoy.

But the foot bothered him?

Tonight there was no pain at all. I was able to run without limitations. I don’t know what might happen tomorrow, but I feel lucky that I was able to feel free to play tennis. It’s an amazing feeling. I know that things can change because, as I explained the other day, my injury is difficult to fix, impossible really. But I was able to play for a month. That’s a lot, something unexpected, something that gives me a lot of energy to keep going.

Does this win give you a lot of confidence?

I do not know. Things can change fast. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to compete like this for the last month. The foot was able to withstand all this stress and of course I feel more confident that I will have the opportunity to move on, continue fighting, continue enjoying this beautiful sport. that’s what makes me happy

What was the hardest thing on your journey back to the circuit?

The way I achieved this trophy was simply unforgettable, one of the most emotional matches of my tennis career, without a doubt. It means a lot to me. And I always say the same thing. When you sprain your ankle or break your wrist, you have a recovery schedule. That is much easier to accept. I’ve been through this process a couple of times in my career. You know you’re going to have four months off and a schedule to follow. Every week you do something different and you see that you improve and you know that after this period of time it is normal to be fine. My position is completely different. We try things. And for a long period of time without any success, with zero success. After all the things I went through in my career, at my age there are doubts knowing that you have an injury that you cannot recover from. Mentally it’s much tougher, sometimes heartbreaking. Luckily I have a great family always by my side, in good times and especially in bad times. Without them, you won’t be here. The formula to overcome everything is love for the game, passion, a positive attitude and a spirit of work. And the luck of having people by my side helping every day.