• Chronicle: Rafael Nadal deploys all his mysticism and achieves his 19th Grand Slam in New York
  • Narration: So we live the game
  • Opinion: Rafael Nadal and the reincarnation of The Little Prince, by Emilio Sánchez Vicario
  • Opinion: Rafael Nadal: inexhaustible energy, commitment and maximum conviction, by José Perlas
  • Album: All the Grand Slams by Rafa Nadal
  • Images: Many celebrities in the stands

Bathed in tears, Rafa Nadal looks at the screen in the middle of the court after winning the US Open: a video shows fragments of each of his 19 Grand Slam titles.

He was 19 when he won his first major in France and, at 33, the emotion in Arthur Ashe was the same. There are so many injuries he has faced throughout his career, that Nadal does not know which title will be the last.

"I am old," Rafa joked to journalists and past the emotions of the ceremony in which he received the trophy, which he has won on three other occasions.

"Seeing all the things I've been through, being able to still be here, it's all very special for me. I've been through difficult times, especially physical ones. When you have physical problems, the mental becomes more difficult."

That is why "during my career I have never known if each victory is one of the last opportunities and I have always lived it like this", but "perhaps, within the bad luck that I have had for injuries, that has always made me value every moment good".

"When they show you a video like that then you also somehow realize all the way you are taking, what you have done. That, together with the moment of tiredness or mental wear, of happiness of having achieved victory with a full track also delivered, because it has made it a little harder to resist emotions. "

With Sunday's title, Nadal is left with a title of the 20 Grand Slams record by Roger Federer and five US Open held by Federer, Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors.

But he insisted that records are not something that will take away his sleep. "I have always said that I would like to be the one who wins the most, but I am not thinking about that when I train, when I am not playing. I practice tennis because I love to play tennis and I cannot think only of Grand Slams because tennis is more than Grand Slams "he said. "I play because it makes me happy, today's victory makes me happy ... I am honored to be part of this battle."

Also, the Balearic said he does not design his calendar to earn points to be the 1st in the world. "If I can reach 1 my way, great, but today is not my main goal," he explained. "At my age and with my goals, I can't waste time thinking about my career in another way. My goal is to play as much as I can, I can't waste energy and time following number 1."

Medvedev: "Nadal was better today and I have to admit it"

For his part, the Russian Daniil Medvedev, 23, admitted on Sunday that the Spanish played better than him in a final contest.

"He was better today and I have to admit it," Medvedev said in a press conference after the meeting, in which, however, he said he did not regret anything and be proud of himself.

Medvedev, who this summer has linked the four US finals - Washington, Canada, Cincinatti and New York - said that although he is not "happy" to have lost to world number 2, he does have to "recognize his own merits" for the last two weeks of the US tournament.

"It has been incredible," said the now number 4 in the world who, although he lost, said he was "happy with the way he played " this match.

Regarding the possible transition of the generation of Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who continue to dominate the tracks with more than 30 years, Medvedev said that younger players, like him, are "doing their best" to get a change and start winning tournaments.

"It is very complicated because they are playing very good tennis. It is difficult to beat them, even if it is a single set, or a single game. We are doing what we can to make it happen," he said.

On the competition between Nadal, Federer and Djokovic to win the largest number of Grand Slam titles, in which the Spanish was only one of the Swiss this Sunday, the Russian said he thought it was a "great" match. "I wished him luck to become the best. (...) It is very entertaining to see him," he added.

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