Rafael Nadal described it as a pleasure to be part of one of the greatest Australian Open matches of all time against Novak Djokovic.
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Nadal and Djokovic pushed themselves to their physical limits but as Nadal admitted to the press, he enjoys that element of the game to an almost masochistic extent.
"It's nice to be there fighting, you know, trying to go to the limit. Something I really enjoy, and I always said it is good suffering, no? So when you are fit, with passion for the game, when you are ready to compete, you are able to suffer and enjoy suffering, no?"
"So today I had this feeling, and is a really good one. I enjoyed. I suffered during the match, but I enjoyed all the troubles that I had during all the match. I tried to be there, to find solutions all the time. I played a lot with my heart. I played a lot with my mind, and is something that is nice to be around and not just play tennis."
"Very happy with my level during both weeks. Is the moment when I realize the whole tournament did I well. I did a lot of very positive things, much more than in 2011 for the most of the time. I played more aggressive. I played with more winners than ever. My serve worked well. The mentality and the passion was there another time better than probably never another time."
"So that's very positive aspects on whole game that I am very happy, no? So I just lost the final of a Grand Slam. I am not happy to lose the final, yes, but that's one of the losses that I am more happy in my career."
