Rafa Nadal: ¡°I was hurt, I lost my energy¡±

This time, there were no crowds of people like there had been on other occasions. His friend Pau Gasol wasn¡¯t there, nor was it possible to spot any other familiar faces from the world of sports.

That¡¯s because for several years now, Rafael Nadal has been turning the extraordinary into ordinary. Even his closest circle was more contained about its celebration of the Spaniard¡¯s 12th French Open victory on Sunday with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 win over the Austrian Dominic Thiem.

Rafa¡¯s father Sebasti¨¤ was there, cracking jokes, while his uncle Toni dealt with all the people who wanted a word with him. As always, there were cousins, uncles and friends on hand. His wife-to-be Mery was there, as well as his sister Maribel, his agent Carlos Costa, and Manolo Santana, a Spanish tennis champion from the 1960s.

I won here twice, and it almost sounds like a joke!

Manolo Santana, former champion

¡°What Rafa¡¯s done is unbelievable,¡± noted Santana. ¡°I won here twice, and it almost sounds like a joke!¡±

Meanwhile, sitting inside his own sacred space, the champion took a few moments to enjoy the taste of glory before meeting with reporters at 9.15pm.

¡°It¡¯s tough when you go through a lot of things at the same time. A couple of months ago I lost my energy because I had many problems in a row. When you get slapped in the face repeatedly, in the end you get hurt,¡± said Nadal, who will compete in Wimbledon in July.

¡°I had the option of stopping drastically, or changing my attitude, and I was able to do the second. It¡¯s the little things and the passion that keep you going,¡± he said, alluding to his trouble on clay courts this year.

¡°Rafa has been through some tough times,¡± confirmed one of his trainers, Carlos Moy¨¤. ¡°I¡¯ve had to be more of a friend than a trainer. At times like that, you have to drop your technical side and become more of a friend, someone that Rafa can talk to and listen to. It wasn¡¯t just me though, it was the entire team.¡±

Roger Federer

Regarding Roger Federer, who is two Grand Slam titles ahead of him, Nadal said that catching up with the Swiss champion is not what drives him.

¡°Of course we push each other,¡± he acknowledged at the press conference. ¡°He motivates me, but I am not obsessed with him. I feel very lucky about all the things that are happening to me. You can¡¯t be frustrated all day, thinking that your neighbor has a bigger house, a bigger garden, a bigger TV than you. The last thing I am thinking about now is catching Federer, I am enjoying this thing now, and whatever happens in the future, we will see.¡±

English version by Susana Urra.