"I saw a Rafael Nadal who played 75% or even 70% of what he was before, and that's enough to dominate Daniil Medvedev" - Gilles Simon
Having lost to Rafael Nadal eight times in nine meetings, French veteran Gilles Simon is aware of how difficult an opponent the Spaniard is. The 37-year-old is familiar with Nadal's peak level, having come up against it on many occasions in their rivalry that stretches back to 2006.
Thus, nobody knows better than the former World No. 6 that the Spanish great wasn't at his vintage best during his 2022 Australian Open final against Daniil Medvedev. Nadal was uncharacteristically error-prone in the first two sets against the Russian, but tidied up his act to win in five.
Speaking after beating Lucas Pouille in the first round of the Open Sud de France on Wednesday, Gilles Simon shared his thoughts on Nadal. The Frenchman felt the southpaw was playing at just 70-75% of his prime in the Melbourne summit clash, which was still good enough to beat the Russian.
"What Daniil went through against Rafa, we, during our careers, we tried to explain it sometimes, which we were blamed for because it sounded like an excuse: it's hard to win," he was quoted as saying by L'Equipe:
"On Sunday, I saw a Rafa who played 75% or even 70% of what he was playing before. And that's enough to dominate a Daniil who is almost the best player in the world on hard court at the moment when Novak is not there. You tell yourself that it's his margin, in fact," he added.
Nadal : "La vérité, c'est que je me suis endormi devant le résumé du match" We Love Tennis - welovetennis.fr/insolite/nadal… https://t.co/Ebed28k2hZ
The 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 win helped Nadal break away from the tie he held with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic and become the first man to reach 21 Slams.
This was the first time in 15 years that the former World No. 1 came back to win a match from two sets down. With the win, he became just the second man after Djokovic in the Open Era to win the set of four Slams twice.
Rafael Nadal has Acapulco & Indian Wells next on his schedule
The Australian Open victory was one of the most inspirational comebacks of Nadal's career that has been plagued by a litany of injuries over the years. The Mallorcan underwent foot surgery last year, which kept him out of action for four months.
The recovery wasn't always encouraging, forcing Nadal to even contemplate retirement at one point. He also tested positive for COVID-19 in December, which further put his participation in the Australian Open in doubt.
But the fact that his foot withstood the rigors of uninterrupted tennis for a month Down Under has renewed his belief. On his return to Manacor, the Spaniard spoke about his plans for the rest of the year during a press conference at the Rafael Nadal Academy.
He has the ATP Acapulco (February 21-26) and the Indian Wells Masters (March 10-20) on his schedule next. But at 35, Nadal understands the importance of listening to his body first.
While the BNP Paribas Open is more of a certainty, the 21-time Grand Slam champion will make the final call on Acapulco after gauging his fitness levels.
"I have to see how my body responds in the next few days & then we'll analyze things calmly. [As of now] my schedule is Acapulco and then Indian Wells," he said.
Nadal went on to add:
"I'd say I'll be in Indian Wells as long as there is no problem. As far as Acapulco is concerned, there's time as it's in 2 weeks time, but we have to see."
Rafa: "I have to see how my body responds in the next few days & then we'll analyze things with calm. A priori my schedule is Acapulco & IW. I'd say I'll be in IW, if there is no problem & as far as Acapulco is concerned, there's time, as it's in 2 weeks time, but we have to see" twitter.com/vamos/status/1…
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