How Champions Forge Legacy

It is always a pleasure playing against a big champion. To pick one player to save your life on clay, it's Rafael Nadal. When I turn up at tournaments, I sometimes feel others must play much better tennis than me. But when we get on court, because I'm a fighter and I really hate losing, things tend to level out. Here he comes, young Nadal. In the words of commentators, he is the best 16-year-old ever seen. You come out with this desire, this will, this need to want to succeed at all costs, and he has that. That's what makes him great. That's what great champions are. When you go down with the greats like McEnroe, Borg, the world number one leading the way behind a man who very well might become the world number one one day. A quite astonishing win by a young man whose progress is so fast, so rapid, one wonders where it will all end. The desire he has means he's already a tough player to face, and one day he could be almost unbeatable.

Can you believe it? He's done it again. That is phenomenal. In the Nadal camp, he holds aloft the trophy. They're loving it. Absolutely marvelous agility and precision skill at full stretch. The movements are the main thing—movements and measuring the balls, knowing when you can take a risk or when you don't need to take that risk. The camp is overjoyed that he has won three tournaments in a row. It's not about the surface. No, it's about your moment and your personal feelings. When you play on clay, it doesn't mean you have to play all the time with big topspin. When you have the confidence, of course you have to play with topspin, but you can go in and go for the winners with flatter shots. I don't see a reason why not. So it's about the personal moment you have. Clay, in my opinion, the beautiful thing about this surface is you can play different ways and you can still have good success.

It's a Rafa special. The first one of the final. Yes, he's done it. Oh my goodness, how good is that? This kid's going to be a legend. A legend was born today. Roger Federer has an equal. It's brilliant, absolutely sensational. No risk of rain today, just a glorious English summer's afternoon. Welcome to the start of Wimbledon 2008. I've seen a lot of tennis matches, commentated a lot, watched a lot, and played a lot. If you add everything together, there's no question in my mind overall the 2008 match between Rafa and Roger was the greatest tennis match ever.

Later, I know I play against the best player in the world and the best player here on grass, and I have to play my best. Only this way do I have chances to follow him. We'll see. It really depends on how the match turns out. I hope I have that extra gear in case I need it. So it should be a good match. There's a new man at the head of men's tennis. Rafael Nadal. Well, difficult to describe in words that feeling. I only remember myself screaming. Yeah, difficult to talk about that, but when you see the images, you see how much it meant for me and for all my team and family. This moment. Unbelievable. Absolutely wonderful court coverage from the man who refused to say no.

And there it is, a familiar sight. The 22-year-old from Mallorca, the world's best right now. Oh, that is unreal. That's two scintillating forehands in the last 10 minutes from Rafa. Look at the angle he gives this one. Oh, he's got it in. What an extraordinary point. He's been wonderful for the game. He's promoted this sport in the best possible way. He's got a huge fan base, and I'm sure a lot of you guys are Rafa fans. He deserves everything and all the praise he gets, and he's a great person.

Djokovic did absolutely nothing wrong. Remember the Dolgopolov match? Went down. The duo set for his fourth-round encounter against a gentleman he knows pretty well. They had a very heated encounter where they played in Rome. His run of four consecutive French Opens ends. Should I say I'm sorry when I'm in the happiest moment of my life? Why should I say I'm sorry? The funny thing was when I saw that he's standing there and Medvedev hit it back to him, I thought for sure he's going to go up the line. A brilliant victory. Oh, can you believe it? Oh, come on. Hanging in there. Out of nowhere.

You know, this court is different than the rest of the surfaces because you can enjoy. You can go to the net. You can play a slice backhand. You can play aggressive. More difficult to play defending here. All my life I dreamed to play well here, so I always worked a lot in all aspects to try to have the good game to play well here. The main thing, I think, is if you want to play well, you want to find a way. So if you really want to play well on one surface and you are the player, I think in the end you want to find a way. For me, on grass, it always was my dream, and playing well here was all my life a big goal for me.

A regal rear performance at Roland Garros. He's a champion again. The world number one triumphs. He's on his way here. See the drop shot coming. Yeah. More difficult tournament for me to play, more difficult conditions to adapt with my game on this court. The performance, the ball, the court, for everything. In Australia, anyway, it is hard. The ball, the bounces are higher. And in Wimbledon, it's true, I have to adjust a lot my game to playing Wimbledon. But in my opinion, playing Wimbledon for me always wasn't that bad because one of the most important things on Wimbledon is the movements, and I think my movements are good to play well on that surface.

What I said to myself is I did it one time, so I can do it another time. So just be there, fight every point, and try to play with high intensity all the time. So I know if I play with high intensity, put a lot of balls inside, and play long, finally I think he can be more tired than me. Sensational shot-making from the Spaniard to seal the match in the best possible way.

To recover, that's what I am going to try. I want to work very hard to come back as soon as possible. Receiving further treatment from the trainer here on this changeover. And the quest for the Rafa Slam is over for the time being. Anyway, I get used to playing with pain for a long time. I had some problems in my career, different ones. Tennis is a mental game, physical game. So if it's something new, it's always tougher to control something that you already had for a while. You understand a little bit more what's going on. And the problem is if the pain is too much and it's limiting your movement, then it's impossible to compete at the highest level.

To win Roland Garros one time is almost impossible. To win it five times is impossible. To win it 10 times, I don't know the word. And win this tournament that is so physically taxing and mentally taxing against some of the all-time greatest players—Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, and all these great competitors that he's playing in this time—is for him to do it. He's extraterrestrial. Ladies and gentlemen, today he has won his 10th French Open title. Rafa. If ever a player had ownership of an event, it is Rafael Nadal.

My goal is all the time and all my life was the same: keep improving and feel myself a better player next year than what I felt this year. And being a better player doesn't mean you're going to win more than you did because win or lose sometimes is part of the moment. The passion that he shows for the game, I don't think you've seen that on anybody. His passion for the sport, whether he's playing here or he's playing in a smaller event. As the number one or the number two, three, or four player in the world, you're obligated to play with those balls. You do your best. You're looking forward to what history thinks of you, and that is Grand Slam events, Davis Cup or Fed Cup. And Rafael Nadal, he gives it his best. It doesn't matter where he is, and you've got to say a lot for that.

Oh, come on. He is the king of the hill. The US Open champion. The third game. An enchanting night here in Melbourne. It promises to be. With the hands, the athleticism that is truly astonishing. What a return. What a return. It's the miracle in Melbourne. A big surprise? No. Unexpected? As everybody knows, and especially as everybody knows in the world top ten, the preparation was not the ideal one. No. I have been outside of the practice court, of the tour, for one month and a half with a stress fracture on the rib, and then I have the foot that is something that stays there, stays there all the time. But what a time to do it. Would you believe it? A ton of credit to Verdasco, and he's even chasing this one. How does he do it? Steals another one. In an emphatic fashion.

And answering your question, what I am going to miss the most is probably almost everything. No. It has been a dream come true to be able to play for almost 20 years of career, being competitive, and having the chance to play in the best places in the world, best tournaments, best stadiums, something that I watched on TV when I was a kid. So at the end, I realized my dream to become a professional tennis player and be a successful one. No. And I really can't thank enough the support and the love that I received all around. No.