Rafael Nadal Reveals his Favorite Memory at Australian Open

Ahead of the 2020 Australian Open, Rafael Nadal bared his soul in an interview. He covered a variety of subjects which were either tennis-related or miscellaneous. However, he also spoke about some of his favourite memories at the Grand Slam event.

Nadal has been a regular presence at the opening Grand Slam, except for the 2013 edition. So it seems fairly obvious that Nadal will have cherished a lot of memories since his maiden appearance in 2004.

He admitted that he had many memories of the Australian Open, which were both good and bad. The Spaniard also confessed that he often got more injured at this Grand Slam compared to any others.

He said, “2017 final against Roger [Federer]. Even if I lost, it would have been an amazing comeback for both of us ad I appreciate that moment.”

“2012 against Novak [Djokovic], I lost that final with almost six hours of the match, and of course, 2009 semifinals and finals had been very emotional. So I enjoyed a lot of great moments”

Along with good memories, there were also bad ones for Rafael Nadal

The next memorable moment, was a fairly bitter one. To be precise, it was the 2014 Australian Open Grand Slam where he was forced to retire against Swiss player Stan Wawrinka in the final. He confessed that it was the toughest two hours that he ever had to endure.

He said, “I got my back injured during the match. I finished the match but I was not able to move myself well enough to compete.”

Coming back to the present, the world number one is gearing up to bag his 20th title. However, he will have to contend with the remaining members of the Big 3 as well as players like Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and many other young contenders.