The Spaniard is one match away from becoming the greatest major champion in history after defeating Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 Friday to reach the Australian Open final.
Nadal was very emotional both during the match and after the match showing just how much this result means to him. After the match he put things into perspective saying:
“A month and a half ago I didn’t know if I would be able to play tennis. So it doesn’t matter, I just wanted to enjoy it and try my best.”
On the match against Berrettini, Nadal said:
“I started the match playing great. The first two sets were two of the best for a long time. I know how good Matteo is, he’s a very solid player, very dangerous. In the third I knew at some point he was going to go for his shots. We needed to suffer, we needed to fight, we fought again and that’s the only way to be where I am today. It means a lot to me to be in the final again here.”
Nadal finished off with:
“For me it’s all about the Australian Open, more than anything else. It’s just an amazing event. I feel very lucky that I won once [here] in my career, 2009, but I never thought about another chance in 2022, so I’ll just try to enjoy the victory today and then after tomorrow I’ll prepare my best.”