Only a couple days after winning his 19th grand slam title at the US Open, Rafael Nadal insists that there is still room for improvement.
The world No.2 outlasted Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in a five-set epic at Flushing Meadows on Sunday. Moving to just one grand slam title away from drawing level with Roger Federer on the all-time list. It is also the fifth time in his career that he has won multiple major titles within the same season.
Reflecting on his current form during an interview with La Cadena SER, the Spaniard stressed that he is trying to improve further despite his success on the tour. The 33-year-old has won 47 out of 53 matches played so far this season. Besides the US Open, he also won clay-court titles in Rome and at the French Open, as well the Rogers Cup. It was at the Rogers Cup, where he defended a hard court title for the first time in his career.
“I think that the ceiling we have touched, I can continue to improve is something I work for every day.” He said. “I will train with the illusion of being better.”
“I conceive to train with the illusion to improve things and that has always been the ultimate goal.”
2019 has undoubtedly been largely a success for Nadal, who is in with a shot of ending the year as world No.1. However, he is not getting too carried away. Stating that he believes it has not been the best season of his career so far.
“It has not been the best year of my career, it is being one of the best without a doubt, but there have been many very good.” Explained Nadal. “There was one where I won three Grand Slams, a year that I won nine tournaments … it’s (2019) inside of a high category, but there have been others very good.”
Nadal’s career title tally currently stands at 84 on the ATP Tour, which is the fourth highest in the Open Era. Out the 84, a record 59 has taken place on his beloved clay. He has also spent 196 weeks as world No.1 and recorded 169 wins over top 10 opposition.
A member of the formidable Big Three, Nadal is constantly in the limelight. He currently has over 15 million Twitter followers and 14 million Facebook likes. British data analytics firm YouGov currently ranks him as the third most popular tennis player after Federer and Andy Murray.
“It doesn’t overwhelm me so much impact, it’s been many years that I’ve been around the world.” Nadal commented on his popularity.
“Feeling the love and support of so many people is a great satisfaction . I try to live as normally as possible and thus appreciating all the good things that happen to me daily”.
Nadal is set to return to action in just over a week’s time to play in the Laver Cup. Until the end of the year he has no ranking points to defend on the ATP Tour.
