Madrid: Rafael Nadal admitted that even he is surprised to be winning Grand Slam titles at the age of 32. “At this age I thought I’d be retired and be having a family,” Nadal was quoted as saying by Spanish sports newspaper ‘Marca’ here Tuesday.
Nadal, who retained his World No.1 ranking following Sunday’s triumph in Paris, is also surprised that he and great rival Roger Federer, 36, continue to dominate the men’s game.
The duo’s careers seemed all but over after both were sidelined with injuries in 2016, but in the last 18 months, all six Majors have been won by either Federer or Nadal.
“It’s surprising because in 2017 I had gone for two years without winning a Grand Slam and I think he’d been without one since 2012, too,” Nadal pointed out.
“Of course it’s a surprise because we’re getting on a bit and when you’ve been such a long time without winning you don’t know if you’ll ever do so again.”
Nadal’s victory Sunday earned him a 17th Slam, putting him just three behind Federer’s record haul of 20. However, he insisted he is not putting any pressure on himself to catch Federer.
“Obviously I’d like to have 20 titles like him – or more – but that’s not in my head right now, and 17 is an incredible number. I want to enjoy the moment,” Nadal asserted.
“At 32, I can’t be thinking about the next win, that’d drive me crazy. You can’t drive yourself crazy if someone has more titles,” the Spaniard added.