Rafael Nadal was Tired to Even Put on Clothes After US Open 2019 Finals

Published 09/11/2019, 1:56 PM EDT

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World No.2 Rafael Nadal secured the fourth US Open title of his career, defeating Daniil Medvedev after nearly 5 hours of battling tennis in the finals of the US Open 2019 on Sunday. Nadal’s coach, Carlos Moya confessed that the tussling five sets proved a lot for the Spaniard.

Speaking at the El Larguero channel podcast shortly after the match, the Mallorcan coach admitted that he encouraged Rafael Nadal from the box as the 33-year-old was exhausted in what turned out to be a boxing match.

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“In difficult moments you look for give him courage, you make him understand that even your opponent is tired, even if you sometimes invent it (laughs). It was like a boxing match,” Carlos Moya said in the podcast.

Carlos Moya also revealed that the 19-time Grand Slam champion was so tired that he couldn’t even put his clothes on and his team members had to help him.

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The 43-years-old continued, “Rafa was exhausted after the game, he got cramps in the locker room. He couldn’t even put on his clothes, we had to help him. It was dead.”

He further added, “It’s incredible. It was a very nervous final, with a lot of tension. One of the most exciting matches I have ever seen in my life, in the end, Rafa came to the end safe and sound.” 

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Carlos Moya, however, didn’t expect Medvedev to play for almost five hours after two weeks of intense hardcourt tennis. He said, “Medvedev played at a very high level. We thought he was a little tired, but instead arrived very fresh, physically and mentally.”

Rafael Nadal will next participate at the Laver Cup 2019, which is scheduled to start from September 20 but the Mallorcan is still not sure about his schedule after the three-day event.
However, Carlos Moya confirmed Nadal’s presence at the Davis Cup final in Madrid, which is scheduled at the end of the season. He said, “The idea is to be there, Davis’s final is in his calendar.”

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Written by:

Varun Khanna

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Starting off as a tennis author in 2018, Varun Khanna has gone on to contribute to EssentiallySports in various capacities. After setting up interviews with the likes of Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Alizé Cornet, and Noah Rubin, Varun is now part of all major ATP and WTA press conferences and has gone on to pen more than 1300 articles for EssentiallySports. He now heads the tennis and NBA division of the organization.
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