"Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic had been a bit better than me on hardcourts, but I competed well all these years" - Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal put on a clinic during his third-round encounter against Karen Khachanov at the 2022 Australian Open on Friday. The 20-time Slam champion was in his element from start to finish as he doused the big-hitting Khachanov's power in four entertaining sets.
During the press conference following his win, Rafael Nadal was asked about the improvements he has made on hardcourts over the years. In response, the Spaniard pointed out that although his arch-rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have a better track record on the surface, he himself has triumphed at a few important hardcourt events too.
"Of course, I was not the best player on hard because for a lot of moments of my career probably Roger and Novak had been a little bit better than me on this surface, without a doubt," Nadal said. "But I was able to compete well during all these years, was able to win a couple of very important tournaments."
Nadal also asserted that he has always made a concerted effort to improve his game on surfaces other than clay.
"I think during all my tennis career I have been improving in all the surfaces," the Spaniard said. "That was always my goal, to be a better player in general terms."
Rafael Nadal admitted that he had to make several changes to his hardcourt game during his early years on the ATP tour, as the surface was taxing on his body.
"On hard? I don't know," he said. "I think during the years I needed to adapt a little bit my game to it because I had a lot of problems, physical problems, so I needed to find a ways to be competitive and to play sometimes more aggressive because I was not able to move that fast like in the beginning."
The 35-year-old also listed some key factors behind his improved hardcourt performances over the years, which have helped him win as many as five Slams on the surface.
"But I think I improved my serve, I improved my return, my position on court, a little bit the understanding," Nadal said. "I probably understand better the game on hard later in my career than in the beginning."
"We cannot fix the injury, so we need to find a way that the pain is under control to play" - Rafael Nadal
During the course of the presser, Rafael Nadal also gave his thoughts on his persistent injury issues. Those injuries include a chronic foot ailment that forced him to pull out of Wimbledon and the US Open last year.
Having turned pro in 2003, the Spaniard has been going strong on the tour for as many as 18 years. Even though he's had to deal with a string of injuries, Nadal has staged one comeback after another to maintain his place in the pecking order.
But Rafael Nadal admitted on Friday that almost everyone in his camp had doubts regarding his latest comeback because of the extent of his foot injury.
"Well, yes, of course," Nadal said when asked whether he had doubts about playing the Australian Open. "First of all, I mean, everybody around me, me included, of course, but everybody around me had a lot of doubts. Not about Australian Open, no, but about coming back on the tour because the foot was bothering a lot of days."
"Of course, still today are doubts because the foot, as I said the other day, is an injury we cannot fix the injury," he added. "So we need to find a way that the pain is under control to play, to keep playing. That's the goal."
Rafael Nadal added that during the off-season he was unable to practice with the intensity he desired, given that his scaphoid bone has only worsened with time. He did, however, stress that playing matches is the best way to recover, and that there are many positives to take from his current run.
"Honestly I was not able to practice very often," Nadal said. "But when I was practicing, the feeling on the ball was quite good. Have been a lot of months without competing. The movements, all this stuff, you need to recover day by day."
"There is no way to recover things without competing," he added. "That's what I need, keep playing. Already three and three, so six matches on my back, and positive ones. Every day a little bit better, so happy for that."
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