Rafael Nadal: 'Novak Djokovic deservedly beat me in Melbourne'
Rafael Nadal admitted that Novak Djokovic deservedly beat him in Melbourne. After his straight-set win over Diego Schwartzman on Tuesday, the 17-time Grand Slam winner said: "I have been playing a very good tournament in Australia, but at the same time, honestly, I will not repeat because you can look at what I said a couple of times before the Australian Open, no? All the things that I have been going through, the four months, five months before the Australian Open start, have been tough ones. So arriving under those conditions and be able to play the way that I played in Australia have been great news. Of course, I can be happy about that final, and all the matches help to take an experience and to learn a little bit about it, no? So I will try to do it better the next time. Is more about the moment than the level in general terms. When Novak was playing very well, he beat me. A lot of times when I have been playing very well, I beat him a lot of times. So it's more that thing there than another thing. He arrived at that moment with probably better preparation than myself in general terms, in all terms. He deserves it. He was much better than me in that match."
Nadal was also asked how his gamestyle influenced the following generations of players: "I can't tell you. You have to ask them, I repeat, because I didn't ask them, and I don't know if I have any impact on the new generations. Probably, of course, when Agassi, Sampras was playing, and I was a kid, of course, you look to this kind of players, Carlos Moya. And of course, probably the young players are looking to me, to Novak, to Roger, to all the top players that have been around. But if my personal style created an impact or something different in this sport, is something that you have to analyze by yourself. I am not the right one to ask it."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2TR4qgM
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