Wherever Rafael Nadal plays around the world and no matter what he wins, you can never stop his love for the European clay courts. Not even during his runner-up press conference at the Australian Open.
Missing out on his 15th grand slam title after losing a close five-set encounter against Roger Federer, the nine-time French Open exits Melbourne confident of more future success. Opportunities came and went for the Spaniard, who had a 3-1 lead in the deciding set. Still, it wasn’t enough to secure his first title of any sort in Australia since 2009.
“I think it has been a great match. I enjoyed being part of it. I fight to try to win the trophy. I had some chances in the fifth with a break up.” Nadal evaluated about his final performance.
“I believe that he (Federer) played super aggressive during the whole match. There were tough chances to play the way I wanted to play. But still like this, I played, I think, with the right attitude, trying to do my things, fighting for every ball.”
Like Federer, Nadal has also endured an injury in recent months. Last year he ended his season early due to a wrist problem, which forced him to withdraw from the French Open. Melbourne was only the second tournament played by the Spaniard since October.
“I feel happy. I played a great quality of tennis during the whole month that I have been playing. That’s a great news for me.” He said.
With this surge in form, Nadal aims to make his mark on the tour, especially on the clay. The clay season is still two months away for Nadal with two Masters tournaments (Miami and Indian Wells) occurring on hard-courts before. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old is making no secret about what the most important part of this season will be for him.
“I believe that playing like this, good things can happen. They can happen here on this surface (hard courts), but especially on the clay.” Said Nadal.
“If I am able to play like this, to hold matches like I hold the other day, and recover well as I recovered.
“On clay I recovered better than here, my opponents don’t get that many free points, and I am playing from the solid baseline.”
Nadal’s desire for glory on the clay comes as no surprise considering he has won 49 titles on the surface, including a record nine Roland Garros trophies.
Whilst plotting his latest offensive on the clay, Nadal also looked at the bigger picture concerning the current state of his illustrious career. Whilst titles is desired by his camp, enjoyment is Nadal’s ultimate goal.
“But the real thing is what makes me more happy, more than the titles, is go on the court and feel that I can enjoy the sport.” He explained.
“Today I am enjoying the sport. Last year I only had the chance to enjoy the sport between Indian Wells and Madrid, because in Madrid I got injury in quarterfinals. That’s the real feeling.”
This year’s Australian Open was Nadal’s first appearance in a major final since 2014.
