Rafa Nadal got his thirteenth Roland Garros this Sunday. In fifteen years he has only failed twice, despite this the emotion he feels is the same. “Being here is an inspiration to me. Here I have spent the best moments of my career. This tournament, the city, the public … means everything to me“, said the Spaniard. With his triumph he equals Roger Federer with 20 Grand Slam, the two with the most in history.”He wasn't really thinking of matching Roger. My mind was focused on winning Roland Garros“He added. Besides, Nadal also had words for his rival.”I want to congratulate Djokovic for the great tournament he has done. In Australia it was his turn and today it was my turn. I hope we can continue to have these battles for many years to come.“, he affirmed still on the track. The Spanish also had words of thanks for his” family and teams “, whom he considered” very important “during the last months. Finally, the winner of Roland Garros also wanted to send a message of encouragement to everyone “and especially to those who are suffering the most” the consequences of the pandemic.
After taking a few pictures on the track with some fans and with members of his team and family, Nadal offered a telematic press conference, like all of the tournament, in which he appeared with the Musketeers Cup.
The process to victory: “The reality is that most people see you with the trophy up there and think, he won again. But for me they have been difficult months on a physical level. Many people have supported me, the family, the doctors, my team, I have worked well in recent months with that goal, although without a clear reward. It means a lot what I have achieved, and above all, having been able to play here at Rolan Garros ”.
What stands out the most: “I am very satisfied. I think the general conditions were the most difficult for me here ever. My body responds worse with cold than with heat and has problems like that. I'll stick with the attitude, which has been almost perfect during these two weeks. Not a complaint in training, not a bad face, always seeing things positively. I said that I was not going to fail and that it would give me options for success. I have not failed myself. If I had lost, nothing would have happened, because my way of facing the tournament has been very good. Tennis has been accompanying me more and more and I ended up playing at a very high level “
13 or 12 + 1 ?: “As much as you see me doing routines on the track, I have no problem with number thirteen. I am delighted with him ”.
Superiority: “The first set lasted a long time despite being 6-0, there have been alternatives and we are not going to fool ourselves that things are as the result says. The match has been tied. In the final in Australia last year I didn't play well. Today I have pushed him to make mistakes. Everything I have done has practically been perfect, except in the third set because it is very difficult to maintain the level all the time. What happened is more to my credit than to his demerit. It is one of the best finals I have played here at Roland Garros ”.
Congratulations from Federer: “I thank you Roger for your words. As everyone knows, we have a very, very good relationship. We respect each other a lot. In a way I think he is happy when I win and I am happy when he does things well. The positive relationship we have together means a lot to me, because I have been through a great rivalry for a long, long time. I can only thank you ”.
Lack of matches: “I was concerned, of course. Doubts are part of life. I always say the same thing. For me doubts are good because it means that you do not consider yourself so well. The year has been hard for everyone. And my preparation for this tournament has not been perfect, but I have been able to train on clay for a while because I did not play in the United States. Yes he doubted before the game, yes. But it is true that my confidence and tennis level has been improving every day throughout the tournament. My feelings in the semifinal were better. The feeling of the ball, my confidence level when hitting it was going up every day. I wasn't that confident, because you can't be too confident when you go on a court to play with Novak, but I've been positive thinking that I could play a good game. “
Little public: “Of course it is sad. It's an important day for me, but I'm not a fool. The world situation continues to be very sad. If you ask me what my feeling is, of course I'm super happy. On the other hand, I am not as happy as ever, because the situation is difficult for most of the people in the world. We don't enjoy, as always, a full court, that incredible atmosphere. Winning the tournament doesn't change my thoughts. The situation is still sad. We are lucky to be able to practice, play, travel. We cannot thank the ATP, Roland Garros, the US Open and everyone who went to great lengths to organize events in these difficult circumstances enough. But I do not forget how difficult the situation in the world is. I hope the situation improves very soon ”.
Two perfect sets: “Of course I played an incredible level of tennis. For two and a half sets I did very well. I can not say anything else. It is impossible to have that marker in favor without playing very well. Yes, I played a very good final. I played at my best when I needed to. It's something I'm very proud of. Personal satisfaction is great because given the circumstances in which we play this Roland Garros, they are not the conditions I would ever choose, but I was able to adapt well. I was able to be positive in all the circumstances that I was in, trying to accept all the challenges. The feeling on the ball has not been great because of the cold and everything. But I take it positively. I just tried to work every day with the proper determination, pursuing my goals. Yes, I think it is one of the Roland Garros that has a better personal value for me ”.
Calendar: “I don't know what I'll do after here. I can't be sure if I'm going to continue playing or not for the next few months. I haven't decided, so I'm not sure if I'm going to stick to the normal schedule or if I stop playing until next year. It's something I have to decide. I'm not going to talk about the ATP Finals because I really don't know if I'm going to play or not. I need to speak with my family and my team, especially, during the next two days. I need to calm you down, analyze the situation and the future, because we are in a difficult situation, as everyone knows. As for Australia, it is 14 days of quarantine before the start of the tournament. It is time to be smart and make the right decisions at all times. I do my best not to make bad decisions. For them to be correct, I need to think only of what I need. Probably, the day after tomorrow we will start to think about what is the best possible schedule for me ”.
Big 20: “I never hide it, I always say the same thing, that I would love to finish my career being the player with the most Grand Slams. But on the other hand I say that I have to make my way. As throughout my career. I'm not going to be thinking the whole time that Novak has this, or Roger that. You can't always be unhappy because your neighbor has a bigger house than you or a bigger boat or a better phone. You have to live your life. Personally, those are the things I did throughout my career. I just try to go my way, do my best every day. Records, of course I care. I'm a big fan of sports history in general. I respect that very much. It means a lot to me to share this number with Roger. But let's see what happens when we finish our careers. We are still playing. I don't know what can happen in the future. I'm excited and of course it's something that means a lot to me to share this record between us, that we have an amazing rivalry for a long time. It's something in a way. “
Australia 2019 Final: “I'm not a huge fan of revenge. I accept things when they don't go the way I like. In Australia he played amazingly. It was very difficult for me to play well. Today was a bit the other way around, especially for two and a half sets. But I don't really care that much. I don't have a better feeling because I won 6-0, 6-2, 7-5, than if I won 6-4 in the fifth honestly. Maybe it's even a little more beautiful to win 6-4 in the fifth than to win in three. On the other hand, beating Novak with that score is because I did a lot of things very well.
Feelings: “A month and a half ago, if they had told me that I was going to win this trophy again, I would have said, it was very difficult. Sport and life change rapidly. I did things well with the great support of my team. I had them all the time by my side and supporting me, especially on difficult days, because it is difficult to work each and every day without a clear schedule. It's great to have professionals and great human beings by my side to push me and help me through those difficult days. Playing at that level is dedicated to everyone who helps me ”.