AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 14, 2023

Rafael Nadal

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Rafa, welcome back to the Australian Open. Can you talk about your first-round opponent, Jack Draper, on Monday night.

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, of course, probably one of the toughest first round possible, being seeded. Young, powerful, growing very, very fast on the ranking, playing well.

Probably, yeah, a big challenge for me at the beginning to start the tournament. Let's see. I'm here to just give myself a chance. I know he's playing well. He has a lot of positive things, and probably a great career in front.

I hope to be ready to fight for that first round and let's see what can happen.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How much have you seen Jack play?

RAFAEL NADAL: A little bit, yeah. I saw a few times. Yeah, I know him more or less (smiling).

Q. How do you feel about your own form coming in here? Do you feel vulnerable at all at the start of a tournament, coming in like this?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, of course. Yeah, without a doubt, no? I have been losing more than usual, so that's part of the business.

Just accept the situation. I think I am humble enough to accept that situation and just work with what I have today.

I need to build again all this momentum. I need to build again this confidence with myself with victories. But it's true that I have been losing more than usual.

Of course, we can talk about things that happen last year, all the situations that I had faced. But the real thing is I have been losing more than usual.

Yeah, that's the true. I need to live with it and just fight for the victories, no? By the way, I didn't play that bad the first two matches the year. I lost against two great opponents, but having very positive chances to win both matches.

I already have been here for three weeks, practicing every day with that conditions, with the best players. That helps a lot in general terms.

My situation, I don't know what can happen on Monday, but my personal feeling, without a doubt, is better now than three weeks ago, in general terms.

Q. I understand it's your first Grand Slam as a father. You have your baby with you. Does that change your training, your plans, your preparation?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, no. That changed my preparation last year a lot, without a doubt. A lot of changes at the beginning.

But now, no. I am able to do my normal routines, practice as much as I can. I practice probably more than ever, more than the last 10 years the last three weeks.

Yeah, have been a positive experience in all ways. I'm very satisfied about these three weeks of work and, of course, having the family with me.

Q. The last time we saw you in this room was after the miracle in Melbourne that you pulled off with the final. With the benefit of 12 months' distance, what do you think about what you achieved here last year?

RAFAEL NADAL: The sport goes fast. What happen last year is already past.

But in sports, especially in a sport like tennis, people remember the victories, no, at the end? People are going to remember that today I have 22 Grand Slams, not that I lost another 50 (smiling).

What happen last year is, yeah, going to stays in my heart and my memory forever. One of the most emotional victories of my tennis career, without a doubt. A lot of emotions coming back from a long injury.

The love of the people, the atmosphere we lived here on Rod Laver Arena in that final, have been unforgettable for me.

Q. You said you've been practicing a few weeks. How are you finding the speed of the court and the balls this year compared to last year?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, the speed of the court I think not big difference. The ball, yes. I don't know. They say is the same, but the ball is worse quality, without a doubt. We can't talk about that any more. It's what we have. We need to play with it.

I think it's a ball that don't get the same spin as usual. After a couple of hits, the ball lose the pressure. It's more difficult to hit with the right spin.

But I think it's easier to play when you play flatter on the shots. But I need to live with it. I think I practiced enough with the ball to be ready for it.

Q. It seems like there's some new generation of players with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune. Do you see these players reach the same level as you and Djokovic?

RAFAEL NADAL: I can't predict the future. Some of the names that you named, they are super good. Carlos has one Grand Slam, the others have zero yet. If we start talking about achieving 22 Grand Slams, 21, 20, I mean, it's a big deal.

That can happen, yes. Why not? But at the same time never happened in the past. Will not be easy that happen two generations in a row. That's just putting the logical perspective on the room, no?

They are super good. They're going to have amazing career. They're going to win slams. They're going to win a lot of tournaments, yes.

Some of them, I can't be sure, but I'm almost sure not two players of this generation going to achieve 20, 21, and 22 Grand Slams. If someone can reach that number - maybe - going to be difficult, they have a lot of things to do in front. But you never know what can happen.

I mean, probably because have been three players that achieved that much, we lose a little bit the perspective how difficult is all of this, no? We are here playing tennis at the age of 36, and you need to have a very, very long career. Injuries are there. Circumstances in life.

Don't talk about the level of tennis because that's probably a thing you can have it, but then there is a lot of different facts in the life that can happen that makes this situation or these results difficult.

No doubt about the potential they have, but the circumstances in life to put the pressure on their shoulders to achieve these kind of numbers, I don't think it's fair.

Q. Over the last 24 hours, we've had news that Kosmos and the ITF are no longer going to partner for the Davis Cup. Going back all the way to the start of your career, what format of the Davis Cup do you think works the best?

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. No idea. Time, calendar, perspective of the players changed over the years. I don't think there is a one perfect Davis Cup format. That's my point of view.

We have been criticizing a lot the last couple of years the new format because we are not able to play at home or this or the other thing. True. But we can't forget that when the Davis Cup have been with the old format, a lot of top players were not playing very often.

At the end always looks like the past things are better than the new things. Sometimes and sometimes not. In this case, the new thing, new formula was perfect. No, without a doubt it was not perfect.

The old format adapted to the new generations and the new times and new calendars, of course not. If you see the top players playing very often on the older format, I don't remember that. I have been part of it. For me that was one of the most important issues that we needed to fix before the new format.

Then we experienced the new format, that looks like not perfect any more. The players are complaining. But the players are complaining always about any format that we going to have, so...

I don't know what is the perfect situation because at the end of the day you know what happen here. We are in an individual tour. We are very individual sport. What works for the No. 50 probably don't work for the No. 5. What works for the No. 10 don't work for the No. 25. What works for the No. 120 of course doesn't work for the No. 80.

All the different opinions makes a perfect format impossible. That's my experience. That's what can I tell you. At the end we need a format and we need to play with that format. We need to be at the less negative format possible to allow the best players plays. That's how makes competition bigger and bigger.

Q. You've had losing streaks before, slumps. How do you compare this one to ones you've had in the past?

RAFAEL NADAL: What? Losing?

Q. You've had periods where you lost a bunch of matches in a row and struggled. How do you compare those periods in the past to the struggles you've had the last month or two?

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know if I had in the past that results, no? I mean, I never liked the comparations [sic]. That's part of our journey.

You need to live with your personal momentum. My personal momentum is not bad, I tell you. I am good and happy. I'm practicing well. Then I need to win a couple of matches. If that can happen here - I hope. If don't, I going to keep working to make that happen as soon as possible.

From my experience, I tell you one thing. I mean, I can go here on Monday and lose without a doubt and not going to be the end of the world. Going to be a tough moment, of course, but I going to accept it, doesn't matter the result.

I going to keep working because in the end I think I am in an improvement moment that I have been better and better every single week. I feel faster in the legs. I feel playing better with more confidence. The last three weeks of preparation here have been very positive from my point of view. Then I going to go on court and I going to try my best.

I still hope that I can play a good Australian Open. But you don't know what can happen. The first round going to be an important one against a very tough opponent.

But I feel ready honestly. The only thing that didn't happen in my side is victories. That's the real thing. But for the rest of the things that I am building to be ready for a tournament like this one, I feel quite ready.

I would love to arrive here with a couple of victories, yes. That didn't happen, so need to accept that, need to live with it.

The rest of the parts of my game that I have been working with, I am quite happy and I feel ready in terms of try to play a very good tennis on Monday. Then I need to make that happen and I going to fight for it.