World No. 64 Federico Coria heaped some huge praise on Australian Open winner Rafael Nadal, saying he was still in disbelief over it.
Nadal stunned the world at the Australian Open when he won his 21st Grand Slam. He beat a stubborn Daniil Medvedev in the finals after being down two sets, wrapping up the match with a stunning comeback.
It was sweet redemption for the Spaniard, who had spent the last year recovering from an injury. To come back at 35 years of age and beat some of the best players in the world for a record-breaking achievement is no mean feat.
As a result, Coria heaped huge praise on Nadal, saying what he did at Melbourne was straight out of the reel life.
“Coming from two sets down, facing three points, (it looked like) from a movie, scripted,” he told the ATP Tour en Espanol website, as quoted by Tennis World USA.
Where it all turned
The 21-time Grand Slam winner was chasing shadows in the final’s first two sets. However, everything changed after he saved three consecutive break points in the sixth game of the third set.
“In that moment, of course, the situation was critical, but sport is unpredictable,” Nadal said.
“The normal thing is to lose the match in straight sets from that situation. On the other hand, I had a big chance in the second (set) too. I was repeating to myself during the whole match, I lost a lot of times here (in Melbourne) having chances, sometimes I was a little bit unlucky.
“I just wanted to keep believing until the end. I just wanted to give myself a chance. That’s what I did. Just fight, just keep belief in trying to find a solution. Of course, I was lucky to save that moment. A lot of moments (like that) that can decide the final like this.”
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