AUSTRALIAN OPEN
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
January 24, 2025

L. HEWITT/R. Nadal
7-6, 7-6, 6-2

RAFAEL NADAL
(Through interpretation.)

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. What were your thoughts of your performance tonight?

RAFAEL NADAL: I played well the whole match. I thought that my performance was very good tonight and that the match was very good. I had opportunities to perhaps win a set, which I was not able to do. Towards the end, I started to feel a bit tired. The physical aspects started to catch up with me. But I was very happy with my performance.

Q. There's much talk in Australia that you one day can become the world's No. 1 tennis player. Does a performance like that give you hope that you can achieve that?

RAFAEL NADAL: Becoming the No. 1 is quite a difficult process. I hope that one day I can reach that level. But it depends on a lot of things. You know, I just hope that I will make it at some stage to No. 1. But it's not dependent on just the match tonight, but on a number of things.

Q. Were you over-awed at all by going out in front of 15,000 people, all of whom were cheering for Lleyton? You didn't seem like you were.

RAFAEL NADAL: I was nervous at the beginning of the match, just like any other match. I don't think I was over-awed by the 15,000 people. Perhaps a little bit because I was playing on Centre Court in a Grand Slam tournament. Perhaps that might have affected me a little bit. But really not that much.

Q. What are your thoughts of Lleyton's performance?

RAFAEL NADAL: Lleyton is a great player. He played very, very well. My strength is my forehand. Lleyton played his forehand very, very well tonight. That's why he won at the end.

End of FastScripts�.