Rafa Nadal added his third title of the season by beating Cameron Norrie (6-4, 6-4) in the final of the Mexican Open in Acapulco. The Spaniard remains undefeated at the start of the season with 15 consecutive wins. “The finals are to win them,” declared the Spaniard, champion for the fourth time in Mexico, equaling the record of David Ferrer and Thomas Muster. “Victories are valued much more now than when you are an 18-year-old boy,” he said.
Rafa Nadal continues to extend his path of success in this 2022. There are already 15 consecutive victories and the third title he has won at this start of the season. «In my life I have had a great capacity for self-control. I have not felt very special when things have gone very well or very unhappy when they have gone badly. I try to have an intermediate, calm attitude and emotional state and see things in a more relaxed way,” Nadal explained about his way of assuming both victory and defeat throughout his career.
Nadal assured that his sensations were not the best during the match, but he shot ex officio and ended up beating the British by double 6-4. «It has not been the day in which I have had my best feelings nor have I been better. I have played professionally. The finals are to win them”, said the man from Manacor. In addition, he highlighted the level of Cameron Norrie. “He has an awkward game and makes you think. It has improved in many ways. It has the virtue that makes the rival feel that they cannot play comfortably and makes you make difficult decisions. He has had an incredible projection last year, “he said about the Briton.
«He told me how things change in a moment»
Rafa Nadal made a very positive assessment of what he had achieved, especially after he had serious doubts in the last stretch of last year as to whether he would be able to play at a competitive level again. Those thoughts came to him during the Acapulco final, as he later told a press conference. “I was sitting in the chair, watching the video of the tournament, and he was telling me how things change in such a short period of time. I have gone from almost not being able to train to being at a very good level. It is true that during this time, I have maintained a good attitude and a good capacity for work. I never would have imagined being in the position I am in right now.”
The Spaniard has conquered the tournament without giving up a set along the way. «I have not lost a set in the whole tournament and the two more or less long matches have felt good physically. It’s a physically demanding tournament for me because of the humidity, but I feel good. Now I have two weeks before Indian Wells », he said ahead of his next challenge.
Nadal already has several titles in Acapulco, although he acknowledged that his age, 35 years, is valued more now than when he is younger. “Victories are valued much more now than when you are an 18-year-old boy. In my career there are many tournaments that have left an important mark. I trust that Acapulco will be a place where people will have a good memory of me when I cannot return. I will keep a good memory in my heart, “he said.
“It would be very ungrateful to have a negative attitude”
Nadal was once again an example of values and explained why he has not been seen to break a racket or have a negative behavior in his long career. “I consider myself super lucky in life. I have managed to make one of my childhood hobbies an important part of my life and my work. It would be very ungrateful to have a more negative attitude than necessary or to break rackets. There are many people in the world who have a hard time to see that people who life smiles at them practically in every way are angry and are not appreciating how lucky we are, “he said.
«It is a premise that I have always had in mind and I suppose it is the education I received at home when I was little. Certain powerful values that in the end stay with you for the rest of your life and I have believed in them. I strive every day to celebrate this as long as possible and, however long it lasts, try to enjoy it to the fullest, “he added.
