Nadal Treasures ‘Emotional & Beautiful Night’ With One Eye On SFs

Rafael Nadal was full of emotion following his four-set quarter-final victory over Novak Djokovic Tuesday night at Roland Garros. The match spilled over into Wednesday morning in Paris, carrying on past 1 a.m. until Nadal emerged victorious, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4).

“I became emotional because, of course, the last three months and a half for me, the only thing that I can say is it hasn’t been easy,” Nadal explained in his post-match press conference. “Not going to be talking about all the things I went through the last couple of months any more now, because I have to keep going, but of course it hasn’t been a fun three months.

“All these things… make this match more special, without a doubt.”

MAKE IT 30-29 🔥🔥🔥@RafaelNadal wins the battle against the World No. 1 @DjokerNole 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 and is now into the #RolandGarros semi-final! 🙌@rolandgarros pic.twitter.com/tZ5oDHu67U

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 31, 2022

Nadal did not want to focus on his difficult buildup to Roland Garros, which included a six-week recovery from a rib fracture and continued issues with his chronic foot injury. Instead, he preferred to look ahead to the opportunity he has afforded himself: He’s now two wins away from claiming his 14th Roland Garros title and his 22nd major crown, both of which would extend his own records.

“In the end, it has been a very emotional night for me,” he said. “I’m still playing for nights like today. But it’s just a quarter-final match, no? So I didn’t win anything. So I just give myself a chance to be back on court in two days, play another semi-finals here in Roland Garros. It means a lot to me.”

Nadal is confident in his ability to recharge mentally and emotionally for his Friday meeting with Alexander Zverev. 

“If I am not playing good or if I am losing in that semi-finals match, [it is] not going to be because I’m not going to be focussed… I have experience on that. I am not the kind of guy and player that emotionally goes high and low. I am very stable, I think, emotionally.

“I know how the things works, no? It’s the moment to enjoy today, because [it has] been a beautiful night for me, without a doubt. Very emotional one. But tomorrow [I’m] going to start thinking about things that I need to do to be ready for that semi-finals. The main goal is be focused on [keeping] the level that I have been playing today.”

The Spaniard will also take full advantage of his two rest days after winning a pair of four-plus-hour matches against Djokovic and Felix Auger-Aliassime. He battled the Serbian for four hours and 11 minutes to improve to 29-30 in their ATP Head2Head series, including an 8-2 edge at Roland Garros.

Looking back on his rivalry with Djokovic, Nadal was keen to put his latest victory in perspective.

“This is one more episode. That’s it,” he reflected. “We played… in the most important events, in the most important matches for a lot of years, and it’s always special to play against each other.

“Tonight has been just a quarter-final match, not the final. So that’s different. But still a super classic match and in a big scenario.”

He then broadened his scope to include Roger Federer. The Big Three were level on 20 Grand Slam titles until Nadal’s January triumph at the Australian Open.

“Between Novak, Roger, myself, we have an amazing story together facing each other in the most important matches for such a long time. So that makes things more special and more emotional.

“Of course there is always a conversation about the player who’ll finish with more Slams or who is the best [in] history, but from my perspective [it] doesn’t matter that much. We achieved our dreams. We made history in this sport because we did things that didn’t happen before.

“So from my perspective… the level of [us] three is very equal. It’s not much difference, so [it] doesn’t matter.”