By Sudipto Ganguly

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal was exhausted and emotional draining as she walked slowly towards the exercise mat at the Australian Open players’ gym and fell on the floor.

This is not surprising considering that the 35 year-old spent five hours and twenty-four minutes on Rod Laver Arena court. The sweat-soaked man, now 35, rallied from two sets to defeat Daniil Medvedev (a 10-year-old opponent).

Although his tank was empty, he got up after just a few minutes and got back on to his bike for his cool-down.

After battling back against U.S. Open champion, Nadal said to reporters that it had been an emotional evening and that he was proud of his victory in securing a record 21st Grand Slam title for men.

“Even now, I’m physically and honestly destroyed. “I can’t think, and I don’t recall a lot of matches.”

The Spaniard’s last victory from a deficit of two sets was fifteen years ago. He also said that he didn’t expect to win the second Australian Open title.

He was considering quitting a few months ago after the foot issue that had plagued him all his career resurfaced. This forced him to miss some of 2021’s major events, including Wimbledon, the Olympics, and the U.S. Open.

Nadal stated that he was not well-prepared after suffering from COVID-19. He also said he didn’t expect to make it all the way at Melbourne Park. His only success there came back in 2009.

But he managed an 11-match win streak after his arrival Down Under. He beat even Medvedev who was considered the best hardcourt player in history.

Nadal lost 4kg during his fight in five against Denis Shapovalov. Many in the crowd wondered if they would let him go if the match went to the end against the highly fit Russian.

The Spaniard, however, said that he had enjoyed the fight.

He admitted that he was physically not prepared for such battles. “I didn’t do enough practice to be prepared for it,” said he.

“But tonight, it was something very special. Believe me, I put everything into it. It is true, I am super, really tired. Even though I can celebrate, it is hard for me to believe.”

Nadal had lost the championship match on Melbourne Park’s blue hardcourts before and was determined to fight for the title on Sunday.

He stated, “I kept saying to myself, “I lost a lot, having opportunities, sometimes I wasn’t lucky,” and added that his Australian experience gave him greater confidence that he was capable of continuing playing.

“I wanted to be a believer until the very end. Just wanted to be given a chance. You can fight and believe in yourself to help you find the solution.

“Tonight was unforgettable. It’s been a great experience. However, I also fought hard and worked hard to get back on the tour.