Rafael Nadal enfrentou nesta quarta-feira em Melbourne, primeiro David Ferrer e após ser eliminado pelo amigo, por 6/4 6/2 6/3, nas quartas-de-final, na Rod Laver Arena, enfrentou os jornalistas na coletiva de imprensa.
Nadal insistiu em não falar sobre a lesão que sentiu no primeiro set. Primeiro por não saber sobre o que de fato aconteceu – virilha? -, já que a partida havia terminado há poucos minutos, depois por respeito ao adversário e amigo que “jogou muito tênis” e também por não querer usar a lesão como desculpa para cada derrota que tem.
O fato é que mesmo os super-heróis do esporte são humanos. O corpo de Nadal já vinha dando sinas de cansaço desde o torneio de Doha e apesar dele ter dito que estava se sentindo superbem antes do jogo contra Ferrer, em algum momento o corpo pede descanso.
O tão falado Rafa Slam ficará para um outro momento, ou um outro jogador. Antes do Grand Slam australiano começar, Nadal mesmo admitia que essa chance era praticamente única e que seria difícil chegar perto disso novamente, ganhar tantos Grand Slams na sequência.
Transcrevo aqui as partes mais interessantes do embate entre Nadal e os jornalistas no Australian Open.
D. FERRER/R. Nadal
6-4, 6-2, 6-3
RAFAEL NADAL
Q. What can you tell us about the
injury? What did David say to you at the end
of the match?
RAFAEL NADAL: I can say nothing
about the injury. Seriously, I would prefer don’t
talk a lot about the injury.
Tonight, first of all, I don’t know nothing.
Second thing, for respect to the winner and to a
friend, I prefer to talk about the match. I think he
played at a very high level. I just congratulate
him and wish him all the best for the semifinal. I
think he’s doing a fantastic tournament. If he
keep playing like this, he going to have a good
chances.
What David told me at the net is for me
and that’s it.
Q. How emotional is it for you
tonight?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yes, is a difficult day
for me. I lost in quarterfinals another time. So I
tried my best. I couldn’t do more. Tonight I think
I played against a great player, a great opponent.
Today I really can’t do more than what I did. So
he played at a very high level, and I wasn’t able
to compete against him tonight.
Q. It’s going to be difficult for us to
write a piece without appreciating how well
you could move. It seemed to us you
couldn’t move as well as you would like to
have been moving tonight. Is that a fair
statement?
RAFAEL NADAL: You see the match?
Q. Yes.
RAFAEL NADAL: So you are ready to
write everything. I don’t have to tell you about
what I felt on the court because I tried my best all
the time. But is obvious that I didn’t feel at my
best. I had a problem during the match, in the
very beginning. After that, the match was almost
over. So that’s what I can say.
But you know what, for me is difficult
come here and speak about. In Doha I wasn’t
healthy. Today I have another problem. Seems
like I always have problems when I lose, and I
don’t want to have this image, no? I prefer don’t
talk about that today. If you can respect that, will
be a very nice thing for me. Thank you.
Q. What was the problem, though?
RAFAEL NADAL: You are listening me?
I can’t tell you which problem I have. First thing,
because I don’t know. That’s my answer.
Q. What you achieved in the last year
was nothing short of amazing. Does this
break your heart a little bit that it had to
happen like this?
RAFAEL NADAL: The tennis career,
you have higher moments and lower moments. I
had almost all the time very, very happy
moments and very nice moments in my career.
That’s part of the sport. Last year I was very
lucky. I was healthy most of the year. I was
playing unbelievable during all the year.
This year I did I think all the right things
to start the season playing really well. And,
seriously, I was playing like this in the first
exhibition in Abu Dhabi. After that starts the
problem. Was a difficult month for me, no?
That’s part of the sport. Accept; keep
working; try my best in the next tournament.
That’s what I can do.
Last year I had a fantastic year. This
year the year just start. Last year in the
beginning I had problems, too, and finally was
the best season of my career. I think is almost
impossible to repeat that. But remain a lot, and
remain a lot to have hopefully really good
moments, and at the same time, too, really
negative moments.
So this is one of bad ones, one of
negative moments. That’s part of the sport. I
think I am very, very lucky sportsman about what
happened in my career. And I have to accept the
fantastic moments that I had during a lot of years
with the same calm that when I have problems.
And if I am ready to accept both things with I
think let’s say everything the same, I going to be
able to come back and play my best tennis
another time.
Q. How do you think David will get on
in the semifinals?
RAFAEL NADAL: He’s playing fantastic.
But I think he’s not the favorite. But if he keep
playing like this, hopefully he can have a good
chance to be in the final or win the tournament. I
would love. Is a fantastic person. Is a close
friend of mine. So I wish him all the best.
I think that Andy is playing very good,
too, but David is playing at high level, no?
Q. After what happened in Doha,
coming here a little bit late…
RAFAEL NADAL: Coming late?
Q. You were ill in Doha and came to
Melbourne a little bit late.
RAFAEL NADAL: I didn’t came late.
You are wrong. I was here one week before the
tournament. Is more than enough.
Q. The question is, with you being ill
in Doha, then what happened after the Tomic
match, did you feel that maybe this
tournament wasn’t meant to be, wasn’t
destiny to win?
RAFAEL NADAL: I tried my best in
Doha. Was a difficult week for me. Here,
seriously, before the match of today I started to
feel that I am playing much better and I am very
healthy and don’t have no problem in general.
So I was happy about happened during the first
week because I was through without being
perfect.
I started the second week with a very
good match against Cilic and improving my level
every day. Seriously, I was practicing much
better than in the beginning of the tournament,
and I felt ready to play this quarterfinals. But
wasn’t the day.
Q. What will be your next
tournament?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don’t know yet. I
have to think a little bit about everything and we
will see what’s going on in the next weeks.
Q. We appreciate your fair play, and
we understand what you’re saying. I just
would like to know if you didn’t have in front
of you a friend of yours, would you have kept
till the last ball and point to stay on court or
would you have left a little before?
RAFAEL NADAL: I hate the retirements,
so this wasn’t the day. I did last year. I hate that
moment. I didn’t want to repeat that.
Q. The match against Cilic showed
you were recovering well. Did you feel
anything unusual the last couple days?
RAFAEL NADAL: I felt fantastic the last
couple days. I practiced very good yesterday. I
had a fantastic warmup today before the match.
Only feeling that I can say was very positive. I
started the second week, and when the second
week started, everything was better and better
for me: the health, sweat, the level of tennis.
Everything was better and better.
Q. Earlier today Andy Murray said
there’s a number of guys on tour who on any
given day can beat each other: yourself,
Robin, Roger…
RAFAEL NADAL: I didn’t understand.
Q. He said any one of the top six or
seven players on any day can beat each
other. Do you think after the year you had
last year, our expectations of you are
probably higher than yours, given the
evenness of the top six or seven players?
RAFAEL NADAL: For me there are
much more than six or seven on the tour that can
beat everybody. I think is more than these few.
In general, the expectations, I don’t know which
expectations you have about me. I have my
ones. I have my goals. Probably we think
different ways, no?
I live day to day with myself. You see
everything from outside. I know how difficult is
everything. Probably, you know, not exactly the
same. This part is difficult, no? This part is very
competitive. You have to have be in perfect
conditions to win. The season is always crazy,
very long. You can’t have time to rest and come
back to prepare perfect in a season. That’s this
game. Only the best players, only the more
prepared players physically and mentally are
ready to be here and to be in the top positions a
long time.
My expectations, I said before the
tournament, I said before the year start, is enjoy
every day and practice hard every day with same
illusion, humble and motivation that I did all my
career. So that’s my principal goal, in general,
no?
I lost in quarterfinals today. We’ll see
what’s happen in next tournament. I’ll work hard
to be ready.
Q. Can you tell us your feelings
tonight compared to this time last year?
RAFAEL NADAL: Is different because
last year was the knees. I had a problem, big
problem, in the knee in the past. So was hard for
me to have another time the same. I didn’t see a
solution in that. Is not the case.
I came last year after probably six, seven
months really hard for me of injuries and of
problems in general. So was a hard situation.
This year everything is a little bit different. I have
three more Grand Slams at home, a few more
Masters 1000s and a few more tournaments.
I can say nothing wrong because I had a
fantastic time last year. Not possible be all the
time at hundred percent. Not possible all the
time to have all the positive factors together to
win in every tournament.
Last year happened in almost every one.
This year we start with a little bit of unlucky. I
gonna work hard to come back and to keep
having chances and to compete against the best
players and to keep being in the top positions of
the ranking, so…
I love playing tennis. I love the
competition. And I love, in general, the hard
moments because you are ready to change the
situation working hard, working every day with a
goal and with illusion.
Q. You said your preparation was
good for this year. Was the vacation long
enough after London?
RAFAEL NADAL: The vacation long
enough? No, one day is enough, you think?
Never is enough. With this sport you never have
vacations enough. This part is special for
different things. This factor is one of the special
things that makes the tour hard and difficult.
Only the best players mentally prepared are
ready to be here long time.
I said before, wasn’t a problem of
holidays, the start of the season. The only
problem was a little bit of unlucky. In general, I
had a virus. When you have a virus, your body
goes down and you have more risk of everything.
That’s probably what happened. That’s the
simple thing.
Now we have to accept. I said 100
times. But the only thing I can say is, accept the
situation and work to try to have another very
good season.
