“How do you feel after this epic victory (6-4, 4-6, 7-6 [7]) against Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the WTA 1000 in Madrid?
Oh, my God, I don’t know. A lot of emotions. But I’m very proud of myself and very happy, because when you play matches like that and you have to fight so much, it makes things even better.
How did you manage to maintain such a high level for more than 3 hours?
Physically and tennis-wise, I wasn’t surprised, but I was surprised to see that it was in the third set that I felt the best mentally. I felt like I had to fight for two hours and it didn’t really work. I was like, “Oh my God, am I going to feel a little more relaxed soon?” It wasn’t really, but after two hours, it was. That surprised me.
One thing that occurred to me is that I think Rafa has had a few matches like that. But I remember exactly the moment he played against (Daniil) Medvedev in Australia (Australian Open 2022 final, 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5) and where it clicked. He also struggled for a while, he was tense and I think he was stressed. But that’s what I felt. It gave me hope that maybe something would click, even after two hours.
“The most intense and craziest final I have played”
How do you evaluate this match from an emotional and tennis point of view?
I think it’s the most intense and craziest final I’ve played.
It’s the only major title you haven’t won on clay. What feeling does it give you to have won everything on this surface?
I never thought about these things, because for me, each tournament is a separate story. But it sure is good to have it on my Wikipedia entry. For sure when I look back, maybe in a few years, it will mean a lot. But for now, I’m just happy to have won this tournament. It doesn’t matter if I’ve already won it or not. I try to win every tournament I play. »