Nadal didn’t have the most difficult final against Djokovic or Federer: “It was very discouraging for him to be beaten” | Relief

January 26, 2014 was the day, the day it was Rafael Nadal He was to become the first tennis player in the Open Era to complete the Grand Slam twice. He just needed another crown inside Australian Open and that Sunday he faced a player in the final, Stan Wawrinkawhich he defeated the previous 12 hours. Everything was in his favor. But fate dealt him a hard blow..

Two years earlier, in the 2012 final, Nadal had fallen with absolute cruelty: Lost to Novak Djokovic in five sets after 5:53 hours of battle, the longest final in Grand Slam history. But what would 2014 be like for the Balearic Islands to remember? like the most painful final I’ve ever lost.

“I lost the match with Djokovic in 2012 in the fourth set. I won it in fifth place. And I ended up losing it. I ended up on the ground: a Grand Slam final, a match and a half winner… But I’m not frustrated: I competed to the highest level. And I am satisfied. I have given most of what I had. I have played well. I have fought until the end. I am lost. The other one hit me. “This is sport: if you commit yourself to this, you win or lose,” said Nadal himself. interview with El País revealed in December 2023 before immediately adding: “I was devastated to lose the 2014 Australian final against Wawrinka. I broke down, I hurt my back in the first set. It sank me. That left a touch on me for a long time. Because of? Because I couldn’t even compete“.

Nadal lost the 2014 final 6-3, 6-2, 3-6 and 6-3 to Wawrinka who went on to win two more Grand Slam titles. Switzerland He was by no means a tennis player: when he was on fire, he was not easy to handle. But Nadal had the measure of it, he had won the previous 12 duels without losing a single set.. “Rafael was clearly his favourite,” he recalls in Relevo Tony Nadalwho at that time was still the Mallorcan’s coach. “I’ve never lost on him and a very important day just comes and you lose because you can’t compete. That leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”

The blister on the left hand

The Australian Open had already started badly for the Balearic player large blister on left hand. He played several matches with a bandage on his hand that did not allow him to grip the racket 100%. “It’s not painful, but it’s hard to cover, and if I do it it stops me from feeling the ball and the racket,” Nadal said those days. “The tournament is complicated like this, because It would take five days to get the skin back and I would be playing within two days. My competition is in jeopardy“.

Ten years ago, Toni Nadal didn’t even remember the blisters episode. “Puff, my nephew, has had so many things… Because he always had a problem, you didn’t give him much importance,” said the tennis player’s uncle.

The worst moment was in the round of 16 against Nishikori, when he even had to be treated during the match because the blister was raw. But from then on, develop the hand and that didn’t stop him from coming back against Dimitrov in the quarterfinals and defeating Roger Federer in three sets in the semifinals. Nadal reached the final with great enthusiasm.

The warm-up, the main moment

Everything went to hell during the warm-up for the final. On one of the serves, Nadal felt whiplash on his back. He did not give much importance to him and, in fact, almost the entire first set he could serve and compete without major problems. “The problems came at 5-4 in the first set. I remember perfectly. It felt like I couldn’t compete, I couldn’t run.”said Uncle Toni.

Nadal reduced the speed of the first serve from more than 200 km/h to just 150 km/h. I could not perform the service movement well, the most accurate shot in modern tennis. After losing the first set and finding themselves down 2-1 in the secondNadal went to the locker room to treat his back. When he returned, almost the whole court greeted him with a roar. “It was very discouraging that the public made fun of him. He didn’t understand it.” And I think that bothered her a little bit in my mind as well.”remembering a member of his team who was in the box that night. ““This is one of the times I’ve seen Rafa at his lowest.”.

“Sometimes it’s hard for the public to understand what’s happening,” Nadal said that day about the boos.What the public wants is to enjoy a good game, they have paid a ticket to see the best game and I couldn’t offer it to them. The public has really encouraged me these weeks. The support has been overwhelming, I’ve felt it more than ever. “You will never hear me complain about the public.”

“The last thing I wanted was to quit, I hate it”

They can no longer take advantage of Wawrinka, what happened to the final was inevitable. At times it even looked like Nadal was going to retire, but the Spaniard resisted the court – the physio came out at several times to try to relax his back – and even won the third set because of the Swiss’s stiffness. But in the fourth set, Wawrinka got the final victory.

“The last thing I wanted was to retire. I hate it, especially in a final. It’s hard to see you at a time like this after all the work behind it. “I tried to finish the best, for the public, for the competitor, for myself, but it was impossible to win like that,” Nadal said at the press conference after that.

And what do you call a tennis player at such a low point? Toni Nadal doesn’t remember the exact words, but he does remember the message he sent that night in the locker room from Rod Laver Arena: “Most players, with the exception of one or two, They would change for you despite your problems. You have been so successful that almost everyone would trade their position for you. Let’s not complain, it’s our honor.”.

“In life one must learn to accept things as they are. When things have already happened they cannot change them. “You have to be positive and I know it’s very difficult at times like this, but seeing everything you’ve achieved, you have to look at things with perspective. “.