"I played for 2 very unpleasant hours because I did not want to retire in a Slam final" - Rafael Nadal on his 2014 AO loss to Stan Wawrinka
Rafael Nadal recently opened up about his loss to Stan Wawrinka in the final of the 2014 Australian Open. The Spaniard revealed that he fought on the court for more than two hours with a back injury simply because he did not want to retire in the final of a Grand Slam.
The then World No. 1 was the favorite to win the tournament, having beaten Roger Federer in straight sets in the semifinals. Victory against Wawrinka would have made him the first man in the Open Era to complete the Double Career Grand Slam, a record that went to Novak Djokovic seven years later.
On this day:
2014 @stanwawrinka, the self-described ‘other Swiss’ stuns the tennis world by winning the #AusOpen. No.8 seed, Stan overcame No.1 Rafael Nadal and No.2 Novak Djokovic, making Wawrinka the first man in 20 years to topple the top two at a major.
#50YearsOpen https://t.co/aWHsdKZLHf
The Mallorcan struggled to hold his own in the face of the Swiss' relentless hitting, losing the set 6-3 in a mere 37 minutes. Trouble with his back started in the third game of the second set, prompting the 21-time Grand Slam champion to seek medical assistance. He asked for an on-court physio again at the end of the fifth game, before going on to concede the set 6-2.
Remarkably, the 35-year-old managed to prevail in the third set 6-3, raising hopes of an unlikely comeback. However, Wawrinka regained his composure in the fourth set to take the match 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 and win his first-ever Grand Slam title in the process.
Speaking in an interview with Eurosport Tennis, Nadal stated that he knew he stood no chance of winning the match once he got injured. Despite that, he kept on playing because it went against his principles to retire in a contest as big as the final of a Major.
"Really, I had two very unpleasant hours on the court because I did not want to retire in a final [of a Grand Slam]," the Spaniard said. "It meant playing for two hours knowing that I had no chance of winning."
Nadal referred to the loss as "one of the worst feelings" he has had in his career, because of what he could have achieved had he won.
"[The loss to Stan Wawrinka] was one of the worst feelings I've had in my career because of what the match meant and for the feeling at the end of the first set with my back injury," he said. "I knew I could not continue, but it was a very important match for me."
The 2014 Australian Open final was the first match Rafael Nadal lost to Stan Wawrinka
Rafael Nadal leads the head-to-head against Stan Wawrinka 19-3 (3-1 in Grand Slams). Before their meeting at Melbourne Park in 2014, the pair had faced off on 12 occasions, all of which were won by the 21-time Grand Slam champion. More astonishingly, the Spaniard had not lost a set across those 12 matches.
Head to Head for Nadal vs Wawrinka: Played: 12
Nadal: 12
Wawrinka:0
#AusOpen #AusOpen2014 http://t.co/QrPIXAWhfr
Since 2014, the duo have played each other nine more times. Barring the 2015 Paris Masters (quartefinal) and Rome Masters (quarterfinal), all of the match-ups have gone in favor of the World No. 5.
Nadal currently has a six-match winning streak against the three-time Grand Slam champion. As for the Double Career Grand Slam, the Spaniard ended up completing it at the 2022 Australian Open, becoming the second man in the Open Era to do.