The emotional Rafael Nadal feared his tennis career was over before the Australian Open

Rafael Nadal shed tears of happiness and disbelief after hesitating about the future of tennis in the Australian Open final just over a month later.

The 35-year-old defeated Matteo Berrettin at the Rod Laver Arena 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3, reaching his sixth Melbourne final and 29th overall in the slam.

Sunday’s victory would mean Nadal would overtake its big rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic and be the first man to win 21 grand slam championships.

Still, for most of the last six months, he was unsure whether he would be able to play competitively anymore because the long-standing foot problem worsened dramatically and did not improve.

“I went through many challenging moments, many days of hard work without seeing the light there,” said Nadal, who also contracted the coronavirus last month.

“A lot of discussion with the team, the family about what can happen or what happens if things go on like this, thinking maybe it’s an opportunity to say goodbye.

“It wasn’t many months ago. In order to be where I am today, I really can’t explain in words how important it is to me in terms of energy, personal satisfaction, because I’m very grateful for all the support I got from the fans and especially the people really close to me.

“It’s much more important to have a chance to play tennis than to win 21.”

Playing at an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi last month convinced Nadal and his team that getting into the Australian Open might be possible.

Sixth-seed coach Carlos Moya said LIKE: “The problem with this injury is that there is no definitive treatment. If you could have an operation, spend six months outside and look good, but that’s not it.

– We had several discussions during the pre-season because we saw that it was not progressing. Then he said to me, “Let’s go ahead, and if I break, I’ll break.”

It’s clear how much Nadal has exceeded his own expectations so far, and after completing a five-round race with Denis Shapovalov in the quarter-finals, he produced a great performance to see his seventh seed Berrettini.

The Spaniard played under the roof at the Rod Laver Arena around Melbourne during a thunderstorm. He completely mastered two sets and showed all his experience and competitiveness as he recovered from losing a third and won it in four sets.

Nadal is now trying to compare Djokovic to becoming the second man in the open era to have won each of his slam titles at least twice. He won his only championship in Melbourne in 2009.

“For me, it’s about being more open to Australia than anything else,” Nadal said. “It’s a great event. I’ve been unlucky for a few injuries. I was close a couple of times. I’m very lucky to win it once in my career in 2009, but I never thought of a second chance in 2022.

Berrettini noticed his weaker back hand ruthlessly targeted by Nadal early on, and last year’s Wimbledon finalist failed to gain a foothold in the match before the third round.

He finally started doing damage with the big palm and broke Nadal’s serve for the first time in two matches in the third game of the third set, but it showed the highlight.

The Italian was disappointed with his start and said, “The first two installments were not what I expected, what I wanted from myself. I was, I wouldn’t say flat, but I wasn’t in the right mood, in the right state of mind.

“It was good that I got a really big and good reaction. I am most proud and happy about this. But I don’t think you can be on the field in this first two sets against a player like Rafa.

Berrettini, who has not yet beaten the top 10 opponents in the slam, has reached at least the semi-finals in the last four tournaments, losing three times to Djokovic and now once to Nadal.

“Makes me feel like maybe it’s time to beat them,” said the 25-year-old.