Nadal not playing for records: Not going to be frustrated if Djokovic, Federer finish with more Grand Slams

Spanish great Rafael Nadal said he will not have any regrets if he fails to add to his Grand Slam tally and see either Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer ends up with more major titles than him at the end of their careers.

Speaking to the press after moving 2 wins closer to his 21st Grand Slam victory, Nadal said he is playing to enjoy the sport and is not particularly focussed on breaking records. Nadal survived a scare from 22-year-old Denis Shapovalov as he needed 4 hours and 8 minutes and 5 sets to outlast the Canadian and reach the semi-final of Australian Open 2022.

ith Novak Djokovic deported before the tournament and Roger Federer recovering from knee surgery, Nadal has a chance to grab the all-time record outright at Melbourne Park but he said it would not matter to him if he missed out.

“I don’t hope (for) anything. I just keep going,” he told reporters.

“In terms of what can happen in the future, honestly I really don’t care that much.

“I’m not going to be frustrated if Novak or Roger finishes the career with more Grand Slams than me, no?

“I mean, let’s enjoy the situation that we did, every one of us, we did very special things in our sport.”

From being worried his career was in jeopardy a couple of months ago as he struggled to recover from a foot problem, Nadal will contest his 36th Grand Slam semi-final on Friday. Having the extra day’s break will be a huge blessing for the 35-year-old after his four-hour slog in the heat against 14th seed Shapovalov.

I WAS DESTROYED PHYSICALLY: NADAL

With 22-year-old Shapovalov roaring back from two sets down to take the match into a fifth, Nadal said it was a “little bit of a miracle” that he managed to outlast the Canadian.

“I was destroyed, honestly, physically,” said Nadal. Notably, he had taken a medical timeout after the 4th set and later revealed he was dealing with ‘stomach problems’ during the 3rd and the 4th set on a hot day in Melbourne.

“But my serve worked well, and for me, every game that I was winning with my serve was a victory. Of course in the beginning of the fifth set … I was very worried.

“But more than (that), I thought (it was) going to be super difficult to win that match. But here I am … it’s an amazing news, no?” he added.

Nadal will face the winner of another quarter-final match between 7th seed Matteo Berrettini and Gael Monfils on Friday.