Next Month Rafael Nadal will have a shot of creating more history is his illustrious career when he takes to the court at the Australian Open.
The world No.2 heads to Melbourne Park with a goal of winning the tournament for only the second time in his career and the first in over a decade. Overall he has won 65 out of 79 main draw matches played at the event. Should he prevail at the tournament this year, Nadal will overtake Roger Federer to become the most decorated Grand Slam singles champion in the history of men’s tennis with 21 titles.
Although the prospect of achieving such a significant milestone is not one that bothers Nadal as he refuses to apply extra pressure on himself. Instead the key for the Spaniard is staying in the moment and not looking too far into the future.
“I did much more than what I ever dreamed in my tennis career,” Nadal said during an interview with CNN. “It would be amazing for me to win one more.”
“But I know that will not be the key for my happiness in the future. It’s not extra pressure and it’s not an obsession.
“I keep going, doing it my way. If it happens, fantastic, but if not, I’m more than happy about everything that happened to me.”
One of the players standing in Nadal’s way of title glory will be world No.1 Novak Djokovic who has won the Australian Open a record eight times. The two have been heavyweights in the world of tennis in recent years and make up two thirds of the Big Three, along with Federer who is not playing in Australia this year. Between them they have won 57 major titles.
Nadal says his rivalry with both Djokovic and Federer has kept him motivated in the sport. In their head-to-head currently trails Djokovic 27-29 but leads Federer 24-16.
“I think we always had a good relationship, a lot of respect. We did beautiful things together and important things for our sport,” he said. “We push each other to be better.
“To have somebody in front of you that’s doing a lot of things better than you, it gives you a clear way about what you need to improve to achieve your goals.”
As part of his preparations for the Australian summer, the 34-year-old is spending his quarantine in Adelaide. Under a deal agreed by local authorities the top three players on both the men’s and women’s Tour’s are allowed to be based in the region along with their teams. Meanwhile, other players are staying in Melbourne. Australia has one of the strictest COVID-19 measures for those arriving in the country.
“It’s a different situation than usual, it’s much more sad for everyone,” Nadal commented. “But at least we’re here, we’re going to have a chance to play here. The world is suffering in general, so we can’t complain.”
“I feel that we are privileged people today, having the chance to keep doing our jobs.”
The Australian Open will get underway on February 8th.
