"Defeat does not destroy me" - Rafael Nadal opens up about heartbreaking Australian Open 2012 final loss to Novak Djokovic and why he's okay with it
Rafael Nadal opened up about his heartbreaking loss in the final of the 2012 Australian Open to Novak Djokovic. He said that he felt satisfied with the result even though he ended up on the losing side after almost six hours.
Nadal and Djokovic played one of the greatest Grand Slam men's finals of all time in Melbourne that year, battling for five hours and 53 minutes before the Serb won 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5), 7–5. The clash, in fact, was so physically demanding that the pair were given chairs during the presentation ceremony, as they were at risk of collapsing due to fatigue.
In a recent interview with El Pais, Nadal shared his thoughts on such painful defeats, proclaiming that he thinks of himself more as a competitor than as a winner and that he's not one to be "destroyed" by losses.
"I'm more of a competitor than a winner, to be honest. Defeat does not destroy me. There are games that hurt you to lose, it would just be missing. But I'm more of a competitor. If I compete, I feel good," Rafael Nadal said.
Speaking about the Australian Open final loss in particular, the 22-time Grand Slam champion asserted that he was not frustrated even though he felt that the match was his to lose at one point.
Instead, the 37-year-old took heart from the fact that he fought to the best of his abilities on the day and from the fact that he only lost because Djokovic proved better than him in the moment.
"I lose with Djokovic the final of Australia 2012, six hours of play. I had it lost in the fourth set. I had it won in the fifth. And I ended up losing it. I ended up on the ground: a Grand Slam final, a match half won. ..." Nadal said.
"But I'm not frustrated: I competed to the maximum. And I am satisfied. I have given the most I had. I have played well. I have fought until the end. I lost. The other one beat me. This is sport: if you dedicate yourself to this, you either win or you lose," he added.
"It left me touched for quite a long time" - Rafael Nadal picks one loss that really hurt him
On the contrary, Rafael Nadal named the loss to Stan Wawrinka in the final of the 2014 Australian Open, where the Swiss beat him 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, as one of the losses that really hurt him.
It was a defeat marred by a back injury for the Spaniard, as he was visibly struggling to put together rallies on the court. About that loss, Nadal said that it was one that played on his mind for a long while, mainly because he could not even compete because of the injury.
"I was very frustrated to lose the Australia 2014 final against Wawrinka. I broke down: I hurt my back in the first set. That really sank me. It left me touched for quite a long time. Because? Because I couldn't even compete," Rafael Nadal said.