Paris (AFP)

"It is one of my titles at Roland Garros which has the most value in my eyes", believes Rafael Nadal, flamboyant winner of Novak Djokovic on Sunday, to afford his thirteenth coronation on Parisian clay, and to equal the record of twenty Grand Slam trophies set by Roger Federer.

"I knew how to adapt," welcomed the Spaniard, for whom the autumn conditions of the Parisian Grand Slam represented an additional challenge.

Q: Can you share the emotions you felt when you won?

A: "The truth is that most people see me with the trophy on the platform, and think: + Ok, well, he won again. + But the reality is that my daily life is a lot. more complicated than that. I know where I'm coming from, I know that after the stop (of the circuit in early March, editor's note), I experienced very, very complicated months at the physical level, things that nobody knows The fact of not playing for two months (the time of confinement), it cost me a lot, and it cost me a lot to find a good level in training, so it's normal to be moved . Having this trophy with me once again means a lot. "

Q: Yet you described the conditions of this fall edition as "the most difficult" you have ever experienced?

A: "I am very satisfied because, from the first day, I said that, of all the Roland-Garros that I have played, the overall conditions were the most complicated for me for several reasons. First to because of my playing style. Also because my body responds a lot less when it's cold than when it's hot, with a bit worn out body like mine, I know I have problems sometimes when it's cold. But, and I don't like throwing flowers at myself, my attitude has been almost perfect during these two and a half weeks, from the first training until the final today. I never complained, I did never been in a bad mood, I have always trained with the intensity you need and trying to see things positively. If I had lost, my analysis would not have been different: my approach to the tournament was very, very good, and my game ramped up to a very, very high level. "

Q: Djokovic called your first two sets "perfect".

What do you think ?

A: "It's true that I played at an incredible level, right? I played really well for two and a half sets. You can't get that score against him without playing really well. I did it. to play at my best when it was needed. I'm proud of it, especially because the conditions this year are certainly not the ones I would have chosen. But I was able to adapt. tried to work every day with determination aiming for my goals. So this is one of my titles at Roland Garros that means the most to me. Today, I did too many things well, and maybe to be that I pushed him to make mistakes. Anything I could do, I did it almost perfectly. I would say, for two and a half sets, this is one of the best finals I have played here . "

Q: Were you worried that you might run out of competition before facing Djokovic?

A: "Sure. But I think it's okay to doubt, it means you don't feel over the top. Of course, my preparation for this tournament wasn't perfect, but I was able to. train on clay for a while because I didn't go to play the US tour. So it's true that I doubted before the game, but my level of play and confidence only increased day by day over the course of the tournament. Already in the semi-finals, I felt better. I felt the ball better. Today, I was not confident, because you cannot be confident before facing Novak, but I felt like I could have a good game. "

Q: You don't want to talk too much about this 20th Grand Slam title which allows you to equal Roger Federer's record.

But do you understand that people see it as an achievement?

A: “I have never hidden that I would like to end my career being the player with the most Grand Slam titles. But on the other hand, I have to go my way. I've been doing since the start of my career and it's working well. I'm not going to spend my time thinking that Novak won this, Roger that. But obviously I attach importance to this record. I'm a huge fan of The history of sport in general. It means a lot for me to share this record with Roger. We have been living an incredible rivalry for so long, I even think it is beautiful. But we will see at the end of our careers. moment, we keep playing. "

Interview at a press conference.

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