Rafael Nadal reveals he considered saying "goodbye" to tennis after foot injury, says he "really can't explain" importance of AO run
Rafael Nadal defeated Matteo Berrettini in four sets on Friday to reach a sixth Australian Open final. The Spaniard will now go for a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title against Daniil Medvedev on Sunday.
During the post-match press conference, Nadal was asked about his emotional reaction to winning his semifinal. The 20-time Major winner claimed he had gone through "a lot of challenging moments" in his career, and disclosed that he even pondered whether it was time to call it quits following his latest injury struggles.
"I don't know. As I said, no, I went through a lot of challenging moments, a lot of days of hard work without seeing a light there. Yeah, I mean, a lot of conversations with the team, with the family about what can happen or what gonna happen if things continue like this, thinking that maybe is a chance to say goodbye," he said. "So, I mean, that was not a lot of months ago (smiling)."
Rafa crying into his bag. https://t.co/SSqwjiVZtD
The Spaniard then asserted that he was at a loss for words and that his campaign Down Under gave him a lot of satisfaction. He also thanked his family and fans for their unbridled support throughout his career.
"To be able to be where I am today, I don't know, I really can't explain in words how important is for me in terms of energy, in terms of personal satisfaction, in terms of being very thankful for all the support that I received from the fans and especially from the people really close to me," Nadal said.
"Every single one has a special history by itself" - Rafael Nadal on whether winning a 21st Major title would be special
Towards the end of the press conference, Nadal was asked about his previous assertion that he wasn't focused on breaking the men's record for most Major titles. The Spaniard replied that while he still had to win the final to clinch his 21st Major title, he was proud of his journey over the last 17 years.
"I don't know. Still very far from the No. 21, no? I mean, every single one is very special, because everyone have a history behind, history of hard work, and every single one has a special history by itself," Nadal said.
Nadal added that he keeps going because he enjoys his time on the circuit, but also conceded that his path to glory was riddled with one injury after another.
"And especially in my case that I went through a lot of injuries in my tennis career, no? A lot of them you know and some of them you don't," Nadal added. "So, yeah, I mean, I enjoyed. I always think that when I have gone through very tough moments in terms of injury that have been more than what I would like, in the other hand I always put in the balance all the positive things that I was able to enjoy."
The Spaniard also claimed that the hardships he has had to endure during his journey have added more value to his achievements.
"So winning, it's special, yes, but winning without all the work that you have behind of course is not the same. If the things are easy, I mean, don't have the same value. In my case, I think I have been able to enjoy it probably more than the other because for a lot of times I was close to not being able to do it again," he concluded.