AUSTRALIAN OPEN

February 7, 2021

Rafael Nadal

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Unfortunately you couldn't compete in the ATP Cup this week, but how do you feel two days before your first match at the Australian Open?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, not great obviously because if not I will be playing at the ATP Cup. It's true that for the last 15 days I have been suffering with the back. So here we are.

I tried little bit today to serve again. Well, I'm doing everything what's possible to be ready for it. That's the only thing that I can say. Today I am still hoping to keep improving and hope to be ready for it.

Q. Do you know exactly what the problem is? What is the percentage chance of you not playing?

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know the percentage. I don't think about that now. I think about we are on Sunday. I have tomorrow and then playing Tuesday, no? No, I don't think about not playing.

The thing is about in which conditions I going to start the tournament, no? I have been practicing great I think for lot of weeks, and I'm disappointed about what happened the last couple of weeks, of course.

The whole positive feelings that I had one week and a half ago, two weeks and a half ago now disappeared a little bit, of course, because I was not able to practice the right way the last week and a half. At the same time I still having not the best feeling possible on the back.

But I am practicing again. I did a lot of things to recover. Is not serious, but the muscle is still tight, so is difficult to play with freedom of movements today. Let's hope situation keep improving. We are doing everything. My physio is here, the doctors here, everybody is helping me in all possible ways.

I hope to be ready, that's all. I know sometimes things change quick. I going to keep staying positive and keep doing everything I can.

Q. You've had injuries coming into Grand Slam tournaments before and made it into the second week, sometimes won them. How do you feel this injury compares with ones that have limited your preparation in previous majors?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, you never know what's going on. But, of course, I have experience on all of this. Of course, it's not the ideal situation to start a tournament with problems. A demanding tournament like this one, playing best-of-five, everything...

Another thing is what can or can't happen during the next couple of days. The only thing that I can do is stay positive, work on the recover, do all the things that I can, then hope the situation will be improving.

Let's see. I can't say more today because is not an important injury but is a thing that stays here for a lot of days. Of course, it worries me a little bit.

Q. Was it something specific that you did or did it just start hurting? Is the pain constant?

RAFAEL NADAL: I started to have the feeling in Adelaide after one practice. Since that day, of course the beginning was just little bit of tired the muscle, I feel a little bit more, I don't know, stiff than usual. But, of course, when the days are coming and you are not able to solve the problem, then you start to find solutions. That's what we did.

We still working on it and let's see. Is not a drama. Is not something that can't happen. These kind of things can happen. Happened to me in the past. The only thing that I can is keep doing my way, give myself chances to, first of all, compete at the beginning of the tournament, and then give myself chances to try to go over that first round against Dere, and then you win days to try to be better.

Q. Does the hard court make it worse?

RAFAEL NADAL: We can't start another debate about that. Every year is the same, no?

Q. Do you feel the quarantine contributed to the stiff back?

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I don't want to think about that. That's what happened. Normally I'm not a big fan of finding excuses or reasons about why this other thing is happening.

When things happens happens, and you need to find a way to go through.

Q. You've won these championships, other majors so often, reached great finals here, you've won it once. What is the difference between winning here - we put Paris to one side - but Wimbledon and the US Open compared to winning over here where you won those more than once?

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I think nobody in the history on the Open Era won twice in every single event. I mean, I don't find a real reason. I think I had the big chance in 2014. I got injured during the match on the back. It was a tough one. Then I had another good chance in 2012, another good chance in 2017 with break up in the fifth. I just didn't win the match. That's all.

I can't find another reason. Is true that I missed couple of Australian Opens for injuries, too.

Q. How do you set expectations just for the season overall? I think people are not sure what to look at 2021 in so many different ways. How do you see post Australia?

RAFAEL NADAL: Let's see how the situation evolves. Health is priority. I mean, today we can't forget that. In my personal opinion, first of all, the world needs to stay as safe as possible today. We need to be very responsible about all the decisions that we going to make, like organization, like in sport.

For me personally, my goal of course is always the same, no? Just try to play competitive every single match I going to play for the whole year, then let's see how far I can go.

Q. When Novak was in the room, he spoke of his relationship with the court in Melbourne as a love affair. He compared it a bit with your feeling in Paris. What do you think makes Novak so successful in Australia?

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. He is very successful normally almost everywhere. Of course, for some reason you find a tournament that is more favorable to you, you have better feelings. Of course, when you start winning and winning and winning in one place, your self-confidence is increasing. When you are coming back there, you feel always on a good vibes.