Rafael Nadal claims he is more pleased about finally being healthy than his results at Australian Open 2022
Rafael Nadal reached the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the 14th time on Sunday, beating unseeded Adrian Mannarino in straight sets. With the victory, the Spaniard has inched closer to winning his second Australian Open title and will face Denis Shapovalov for a place in the last four.
Speaking to the press afterwards, Nadal claimed that while he was satisfied with his performances in 2022, the fact that he was in good shape physically pleased him even more.
"Well, for me, the main thing, and if you tell me what I am more pleased about, is about be healthy enough to be here," the Spaniard said. "That's the main thing, to be able to play seven matches, something I didn't even know when I was here, no, so to be able to play seven matches, it's great news."
The Spaniard added that considering the intensity at which he has been practicing lately, his quality of play came as little surprise to him,
"In terms of tennis, I am happy in general terms, of course, no? I did a lot of things well, and knowing from where we are coming and about the number of practices at the highest level that I was able to do before here, the things are going much better than expected, without a doubt, no?"
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The 34-year-old asserted that he was happy his hard work was paying dividends at the Melbourne Slam.
"I have been working very hard in all terms for a lot of months, not that much on court, but in all ways to try to come back to the tour. I am enjoying the fact that I am here and I am enjoying the fact that I am again in quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, something that it's very special for me."
It should be noted that the 2022 Australian Open is Nadal's first Slam in nearly six months. The Spaniard aggravated a foot injury during his Roland Garros semifinal against eventual champion Novak Djokovic last year. Following that he was forced to pull out of Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics and the US Open.
"If he's able to keep improving, he will be a multi-Grand Slam winner; he has a lot of amazing things on his game" - Rafael Nadal on Denis Shapovalov
During his press conference, Rafael Nadal was also asked to reminisce about the time he met Denis Shapovalov at the 2017 Rogers Cup. The Spaniard chuckled at the question, as it was the explosive Canadian who had cost him a chance of rising to World No. 1 during that tournament.
"Was a tough one, that one, I remember because I was playing for the No. 1 (smiling)," Nadal recalled.
Nadal added that he always felt Shapovalov was going to be a "potential multi-Grand Slam winner" in the future while lavishing rich praise on his game.
"He played great. Honestly, he was very young and he played with amazing intensity and creating amazing shots. Yeah, as everybody knows, is one of the players with the biggest potential on the tour."
"I mean, when I played against him, after the match I said he gonna be potential multi-Grand Slam winner. And I still think that if he's able to keep improving, he will be a multi-Grand Slam winner, no?" Nadal said. "He has a lot of amazing things on his game, and his results says that. When he's playing well, it's very difficult to stop him."
The Spaniard expressed excitement at the pair's quarterfinal encounter, insisting that he would have to play his best match in Melbourne yet to beat the in-form Canadian.
"Gonna be a tough one for me. But I in quarterfinals, what to expect, no? I mean, is a match to try my best, to play at my highest level if I want to have chances to go through. And, yeah, I'm excited about it, honestly, no? I didn't expect to be where I am weeks ago."