Rafael Nadal is "very happy to start the season with a title"

Rafael Nadal clinched his 89th tour title on Sunday, defeating Maxime Cressy 7-6(6), 6-3 in the Melbourne Summer Set final. In doing so, Nadal created history by becoming the first man in the Open Era to win a title in 19 different seasons.

The Spaniard has now won a title in 19 consecutive seasons dating back to his first tour title in 2004.

Roger Federer and Andre Agassi have both won titles in 18 different seasons. However, Novak Djokovic is the closest to Nadal's feat of 19 consecutive seasons with a title. The Serb has won at least one ATP title for 16 seasons in a row so far.

Speaking to the media after his historic triumph, Rafael Nadal expressed his delight at starting the season with a title. The Mallorcan pointed out that the title win counted for more given his recent physical struggles.

The 20-time Major champion spent most of 2021 nursing a chronic foot injury before he was struck by COVID-19 late last year.

"Of course very happy to start the season with a title," Rafael Nadal said. "It's another season at least winning a title, and coming from where we are coming, it's very special, so super happy for that."

Nadal claimed that his performance against Cressy was his best of the tournament. He added that he would return to practice during the upcoming week before launching his bid for Slam No. 21 at the Australian Open.

"Tonight I think I played my best match so far since I arrived here, without a doubt, against a very difficult player to play against," Nadal added. "Yeah, it's a positive start. Now I have one week to keep practicing, which of course I was able to play three matches, win a title. That's going to help."

During the press conference, Rafael Nadal erred on the side of caution regarding his physical well-being. He admitted that he is not at 100% but expressed his delight at making steady inroads on that front.

"Well, exactly where I would like to be is being 100 percent healthy from last year, playing until the end of the season and without coming back after five, six months outside of the competition and with a lot of troubles to have enough practices," Rafael Nadal said. "So of course I am not exactly the place that I want to be."

"But I am very happy. If we put everything together and analyze all the things that I went through the last five months, including the COVID after Abu Dhabi, of course I am happy," he added. "I think I had a great week of practice before the tournament started."

Nadal mentioned that his form during training has been better than what his performances have reflected on the court. However, he believes this is "completely normal" given the amount of time he spent on the sidelines last year.

"I think my practices have been much better than my level of tennis on the competition, something that is completely normal today after a while without being on the tour, but in some way that's very positive, because if the level of tennis during the practices are there, victories help, and the only thing that I need is stay healthy and spend time on court, on official matches," Nadal said.

"This title helps to keep going, and it's of course just the beginning" - Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal celebrates after winning the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set

2021 was a difficult year for Rafael Nadal, both on and off the court. He began the year struggling with his back before ultimately being knocked over by a chronic foot problem at Roland Garros.

Nadal failed to win the French Open as he lost to rival Novak Djokovic in a fiercely-contested semifinal clash in Paris. The Spaniard was forced to skip Wimbledon as well as the Olympics.

The 35-year-old briefly returned to action at the Citi Open. But his foot pain grew worse, forcing a premature end to his season. Just when things seemed to be on the mend, Nadal contracted COVID-19, raising further questions about his overall well-being.

As such, Nadal believes his title win in Melbourne is "special" given all that he and his team have gone through in the past few months. The Mallorcan believes his immense hard work during that time has helped him reap the rewards.

"Well, to win a title is always special, and at the same time, after all the things that we went through, I had tremendous support from my team without a doubt, from my family, and yeah, of course there have been still doubts but even more doubts during a lot of months if I will be able to be back," Rafael Nadal said.

"Yeah, I think they have been there always. I think I tried hard, honestly. There have been some very challenging moments, and I have been working very hard even in the very tough moments," Nadal added. "I never say, and I will never say I deserve this, because I think a lot of people deserve, but I really worked hard, so I am quite satisfied the way that I approached all these very challenging months in terms of attitude, in terms of positive spirit and in terms of passion to try to be back."

"This title helps to keep going, and it's of course just the beginning. I have a lot of things to keep improving, but I really want to do it, and I'm going to try hard."