MELBOURNE SUMMER SET

January 6, 2022

Rafael Nadal

Press Conference

R. NADAL/R. Berankis

6-2, 7-5

Q. How are you feeling after the match?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, happy, of course. More than victory or losing, I have been back on a professional tour playing a professional match after five, six months. That makes me feel good, happy, and of course the victory is important because that gives me the chance to play again tomorrow.

Q. How did you recover physically from the COVID infection recently? Were you able to bounce back quite quickly from that specifically?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, obviously not. I have been going through very challenging times for four or five days. They've been tough, and after that I felt so tired, and I had fever. I had to be on the bed for a couple of days without having the chance to move much because I was very sick with fever, and one of the toughest symptoms that I had in my life in terms of flu.

Then I decided when my PCR was negative, I decided to come here as soon as possible because that's in my opinion the better way mentally and physically to try to recover and to be ready and to adapt myself to the conditions here in Australia.

Q. Was it a close decision that you maybe would not come to Australia? Was it a hard decision?

RAFAEL NADAL: I always wanted to come, honestly. That's the thing. We decided to come after my matches in Abu Dhabi. We decided that our goal is to come to Australia, and I made that decision. After I got infected, I needed to see a little bit how my body improved after the COVID. I was able to practice two days at home before coming here, and even if I was not in perfect conditions, of course, after the 10 days at home, I was able to -- I felt myself enough good, and I always wanted to be back on the tour, and I wanted to be here.

Q. Jordan Thompson was saying the other day that once he got over the COVID and he was a bit better and he started to practice, it was very difficult for him. He said he was shaking a lot and very weak, et cetera. When you started to get back on the court and started to do any sort of training, how difficult was that, and what did you go through?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, honestly I was shaking a lot at home during the process. After that when I was back on the court, normal muscle pain and joints and body tired after 10 days at home and after going through some tough moments with the body issues.

But then I think I was -- the only thing that I can say, I'm quite happy the way that I improved in terms of recovery. I think I did positive work here during the whole week in terms of practice, and I had fun practicing again, playing, practicing here in Rod Laver, in all the stadiums, and now I am just excited to be back in competition, and tomorrow will be another chance.

Q. Obviously the Novak situation is all anyone is talking about today; can we get your perspective on it, and just in general whether you think it might impact on how people look at Australia and the Australian Open in general?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I don't know. Of course what's happening is not good for no one in my opinion. But I can't have a clear opinion on everything because I don't have all the details, honestly.

Seems some rough situation, but at the end of the day the only thing that I can say is we have been going through very challenging and a lot of families have been suffering a lot during the last two years with all the pandemic.

I mean, it's normal that the people here in Australia get very frustrated with the case because they have been going through a lot of very hard lockdowns, and a lot of people were not able to come back home.

From my point of view, that's the only thing that I can say is I believe in what the people who knows about medicine says, and if the people says that we need to get vaccinated, we need to get the vaccine. That's my point of view.

I went through the COVID. I have been vaccinated twice. If you do this, you don't have any problem to play here. That's the only clear thing.

The rest of the things, I don't want to have or to give to you an opinion that I don't have the whole information. The only for me clear thing is if you are vaccinated, you can play in the Australian Open and everywhere, and the world in my opinion have been suffering enough to not follow the rules.

Q. So you'd encourage Novak to get vaccinated and it solves all the problems?

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't encourage no one. I feel everyone have to do whatever, whatever feels that is good for him. But there are rules, and if you don't want to get the vaccine, then you can have some troubles. That's the thing.

Of course after a lot of people had been dying for two years, my feeling is with the vaccine is the only way to stop this pandemic. That's what the people who understands about this says, and I am no one to create a different opinion.

Q. Do you feel sorry for Novak's situation, and do you want to see him play here in Australia, or do you think he should have known better?

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't have an opinion on that. I think if he wanted, he would be playing here in Australia without a problem. He went through another -- he made his own decisions, and everybody is free to take their own decisions, but then there are some consequences.

Of course I don't like the situation that is happening. In some way I feel sorry for him. But at the same time, he knew the conditions since a lot of months ago, so he makes his own decision.

Q. If you could explain the idea in playing doubles, and then if you're planning to play doubles, as well, next week, and then what's the plan next week, go to Sydney or stay in Melbourne?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yes, I played doubles the first today. Today I am not going to play doubles. I'm going to pull out from the doubles. Too much in a row the same day are too much for me after a lot of months without being on a professional tournament.

I wanted to try, and of course if the situation had been different today in my singles and I lose maybe, I will have the chance to keep going playing doubles. But I mean, the most important thing today is trying to stay healthy now.

Tomorrow I have another chance to play, and that's it. I want to be ready for tomorrow and enjoy another good singles match, and I don't think my doubles -- the first day had been helping to play doubles before the singles start. Today I don't think it's going to help me. No, probably the other way.

Q. Just talking about the injury and how you've recovered from the surgery, et cetera, hard courts from memory have always been an issue for you with your knees. How are you feeling? Is there any pain now, or are you feeling totally comfortable and confident with the injury?

RAFAEL NADAL: Oh, as you can imagine, it's not possible to be totally confident and comfortable after an injury of probably around six months. It's difficult to be a hundred percent confident and feel yourself ready forever.

It's about you need to get back to the confidence on a tennis perspective and on a body perspective day by day. That's the thing; I am working hard to recover all these positive feelings with my physical performance, with my tennis performance, trying to save my body as much as possible, but in some way I need to test my foot.

You know very well because you have been around my opinion about playing too much on hard, but that's it. That's not going to change, and I like to play on hard court. That's another thing. It's about the health issue.