Nadal Aims to Set Tennis Grand Slam Record
2022-01-29
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1An emotional Rafael Nadal said he feels like his tennis career was "alive" again after reaching the final of the Australian Open on Friday.
2Nadal's victory over Italian Matteo Berrettini left him one win away from a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam championship.
3A few months ago, the 35-year-old Spaniard feared he might never play again because of a serious foot injury.
4He missed several major competitions last year, including Wimbledon, the Olympics, and the U.S. Open.
5Nadal also struggled with COVID-19 infection last month.
6He said he told his family and team members, "if things continue like this...maybe it's a chance to say goodbye."
7But on Friday, Nadal recorded his 10th straight win to reach his sixth Australian Open final.
8Nadal could not stop crying after his victory Friday, saying "I feel alive in terms of my tennis life, in terms of my tennis career."
9Nadal is currently in a three-way tie with Serbian Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer of Switzerland for the men's Grand Slam record at 20.
10Federer has been out for some time with injuries, while top-ranked Djokovic had to leave Australia when his visa was canceled.
11A victory in the final on Sunday would give Nadal the record.
12But he will need to defeat the world's second-ranked player, Daniil Medvedev of Russia.
13Medvedev defeated Djokovic earlier in the U.S. Open final to prevent Djokovic from breaking the record.
14This final will be Nadal's 29th Grand Slam final of his career.
15He has won a record 13 French Open championships.
16But he has only won one Australian Open title in his career.
17That win came in 2009.
18Nadal said of Sunday's final, "For me, it's a present, just to be here and play tennis."
19Medvedev noted that this would be his second time playing against someone attempting to break the men's record.
20"I'm going to play again against one of the greatest...Again, I'm going to play somebody going for the 21st Slam. I'm ready."
21I'm Jonathan Evans.
1An emotional Rafael Nadal said he feels like his tennis career was "alive" again after reaching the final of the Australian Open on Friday. Nadal's victory over Italian Matteo Berrettini left him one win away from a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam championship. 2A few months ago, the 35-year-old Spaniard feared he might never play again because of a serious foot injury. He missed several major competitions last year, including Wimbledon, the Olympics, and the U.S. Open. 3Nadal also struggled with COVID-19 infection last month. He said he told his family and team members, "if things continue like this...maybe it's a chance to say goodbye." 4But on Friday, Nadal recorded his 10th straight win to reach his sixth Australian Open final. Nadal could not stop crying after his victory Friday, saying "I feel alive in terms of my tennis life, in terms of my tennis career." 5Nadal is currently in a three-way tie with Serbian Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer of Switzerland for the men's Grand Slam record at 20. Federer has been out for some time with injuries, while top-ranked Djokovic had to leave Australia when his visa was canceled. 6A victory in the final on Sunday would give Nadal the record. But he will need to defeat the world's second-ranked player, Daniil Medvedev of Russia. Medvedev defeated Djokovic earlier in the U.S. Open final to prevent Djokovic from breaking the record. 7This final will be Nadal's 29th Grand Slam final of his career. He has won a record 13 French Open championships. But he has only won one Australian Open title in his career. That win came in 2009. 8Nadal said of Sunday's final, "For me, it's a present, just to be here and play tennis." 9Medvedev noted that this would be his second time playing against someone attempting to break the men's record. "I'm going to play again against one of the greatest...Again, I'm going to play somebody going for the 21st Slam. I'm ready." 10I'm Jonathan Evans. 11Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on reporting from Reuters and The Associated Press. 12____________________________________________________________ 13Words in This Story 14rank - v. to place in a specific position in a group