“It was very unpleasant for him when he was booed” | Relief
January 26, 2014 was the day, the day when Rafael Nadal He was about to become the first Open Era tennis player to win the Grand Slam twice. He was just one more Australian Open crown short, and that Sunday he faced Stan Wawrinka in the final, whom he had beaten on his previous 12 occasions. Everything was in his favor. But fate had a very hard blow in store for him..
Two years earlier, in the 2012 final, Nadal suffered a particularly brutal fall, losing to Novak Djokovic in five sets after 5:53 hours of action, the longest final in Grand Slam history. But what will 2014 be like for the Balearic Islands to remember? like the most painful ending I’ve ever lost.
“I lost the match with Djokovic in 2012 in the fourth set. I won it in the fifth. And in the end he lost. I found myself on the ground: a Grand Slam final, half the match was won… But I’m not upset: I performed at my best. And I’m happy. I gave everything I had. I played well. I fought until the end. I lost. Another one beat me. This is a sport: if you dedicate yourself to it, you will either win or lose,” Nadal himself said in an interview with El País published in December 2023, and immediately added: “I was very upset by losing the 2014 Australian final against Wawrinka . I broke down and hurt my back in the first set. That’s right It sank me. It left me touched for quite a long time. Because? ‘Cause I couldn’t even compete“.
Nadal lost the 2014 final by scores of 6–3, 6–2, 3–6 and 6–3 to Wawrinka, who would later win two more Grand Slam titles. The Swiss was by no means a tennis player: when he was on fire, it was impossible to treat him. But Nadal was at his best: he won the previous 12 matches without losing a single set.. “Rafael was clearly the favorite,” recalls Toni Nadal, who at that time was still the coach of Mallorca, in Relevo. “I’ve never lost to him and then the big day comes and you lose because you can’t compete. It leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.”
Blister on left hand
The Australian Open has already started poorly for the Balearic Islands player. large bubble on the palm of the left hand. He played several matches with a bandage on his hand, which did not allow him to hold the racket 100%. “It doesn’t hurt, but it’s hard to cover and if I do it, it won’t allow me to feel the ball and the racket,” Nadal said at the time. “The tournament is so difficult because The skin will recover in five days, and in two days I will be able to play. My tournament is in danger“.
Ten years later Toni Nadal didn’t even remember the episode with the blisters. “Puff, my nephew had so many things… Because he was always in trouble, you didn’t think much of it,” says the tennis player’s uncle.
The worst moment was in the 1/8 finals against Nishikori, when he even had to undergo treatment during the match because the callus was fresh. But from now on, hand has improved and that didn’t stop him from coming back against Dimitrov in the quarter-finals and defeating Roger Federer in three sets in the semi-finals. Nadal approached the final with great enthusiasm.
Warm-up, key point
During the warm-up before the final, everything went to hell. On one of his serves, Nadal noticed a whiplash injury on his back. He did not attach much importance to this and, in fact, was able to serve and perform almost the entire first set without any special complications. “Problems arose when the score was 5-4 in the first set. I remember it very well. It felt like I couldn’t compete, that I couldn’t run.”says Uncle Tony.
Nadal reduced his first serve speed from over 200 km/h to just 150 km/h. He failed to execute his serve well, the most decisive shot in modern tennis. After losing the first set and losing 2-1 in the secondNadal went to the locker room to treat his back. When he returned, almost the entire court greeted him with boos. “He was very embarrassed when the audience booed him. He didn’t understand it.” And I think it upset her a little mentally, too.”recalls a member of his team who was in the box that night. ““This is one of the times I’ve seen Rafa at his lowest.”.
“Sometimes it’s hard for the public to understand what’s going on,” Nadal said of the booing that day. “The public wants to enjoy a great game. They paid for a ticket to see the best game, and I couldn’t offer it to them. The audience has been very encouraging to me these weeks. The support was enormous, I felt it more than ever. “You’ll never hear me complain about the public.”
“The last thing I wanted was to retire, I hate it.”
No longer able to take advantage of Wawrinka, the fate of the final was inevitable. At some points it even seemed that Nadal was going to retire, but the Spaniard resisted on the court – at several breaks the physiotherapist came out to try to relax his back – and even won the third set thanks to the Swiss’s stiffness. But in the fourth set, Wawrinka finally secured victory.
“The last thing I wanted was to leave the sport. I hate it, especially in the finale. It’s hard to see you at a time like this, after all the work we’ve done. “I tried to show my best, for the public, for my opponent, for myself, but it was impossible to win this way,” Nadal said at a subsequent press conference.
What should you say to a tennis player in such a difficult moment? Toni Nadal doesn’t remember the exact words, but he remembers the message he gave him that night in the Rod Laver Arena locker room: “Most of the players, with the exception of one or two, would trade for you, despite all your problems.” had.” had. You have achieved such success that almost anyone would trade their situation for yours. Let’s not complain, we have the privilege.”.
“In life you need to learn to accept things as they are. Once something has already happened, it cannot be changed. “You have to be positive, and I know it’s very difficult at times like this, but seeing everything you’ve achieved, you have to put things in perspective.”.