Rafael Nadal: “Excited to be Back on This Court Against Him After 11 Years”

World No. 2, Rafael Nadal knows exactly what to expect from his semifinal clash against Roger Federer at the Wimbledon Championships 2019. The two will meet each other for the fourth time at SW19 with Roger Federer winning two of their previous three finals.

Rafael Nadal is certainly excited to play against the Swiss at the All England Lawn Tennis Club after 11 years. He said in a post-match press conference, “To play against Roger always is a unique situation. Excited to be back on this court against him after 11 years. Means a lot for me and probably for him, too.”

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will face off against each other for the 40th time in their career. However, the Spaniard feels that the two will have more opportunities to play against each other.

He continued, “Excited about this match, excited about this opportunity to be again in that round against him. Always I say the same: of course, the opportunities to play against each other every time are less, but we are still here. After tomorrow we are going to have another chance.”

The 18-time grand slam champion knows what it takes to beat Roger Federer at the Wimbledon Championships as he defeated him in the epic 2008 finals in the final set.

He further added, “I just expect to play against probably the best player in the history of this surface and know that I have to play my best if I want to have chances to try to be in that final.”

Earlier, Rafael Nadal had defeated Roger Federer in the semifinals of the French Open 2019. However, the Spaniard suggested that there is a big transition from clay to grass.

He said, “Probably is better to have that victory in Roland Garros than to have defeated, of course. But on the other hand, it’s a completely different situation. To play on grass or play on clay is probably the biggest change in the world of tennis.”

Nadal certainly has the upper hand against Roger Federer as he leads their head-to-head 24-15. However, the 33-year-old feels that the player getting more chances to play better will win the high-voltage match.

“I think the player who will have the chance to play better will be the player who has more chances to be through. That’s all. These kinds of matches are like this,” Nadal said.

Rafael Nadal also showed his disappointment that he never played against Roger Federer in the Flushing Medows at the US Open. He said, “Only in New York we didn’t play. That’s the only bad news.”

It will be interesting to see which players cruise through to the finals of the Wimbledon Championships 2019. While Roger Federer is aiming for a record 9th Wimbledon title and 21st overall grand slam title. On the other hand, Nadal is aiming for a record 3rd French Open and Wimbledon duo title.