Rafael Nadal says he will not let any physical limitations stop him from achieving more grand slam success after winning a record-extending 11th French Open title.
The 32-year-old world No.1 earned a 6-4 6-3 6-2 over Austria’s Dominic Thiem to retain his Roland Garros crown despite complaining of a wrist and finger injury in the third set.
However, Nadal triumphed in dominant style to win his 17th grand slam title, just three major honours behind Roger Federer’s all-time record of 20.
The Spaniard remains confident and ambitious to win more and says he isn’t concerned about his age or chasing history.
“Winning here after having the clay-court season that I had is emotional and that gives me calm and confidence to keep going,” said Nadal.
“If you tell me seven, eight years ago that I will be here, 32 years old, having this trophy with me again, I would tell you that is something almost impossible, but here we are. I am not much worried about the future.
“If you don’t have the will to improve, you don’t understand the sport, because the sport is always about improving. That’s the meaning of sport. It’s playing with the dream of doing something better than what you’re doing before.
“There is no limit. You never know where is the limit.”
Federer will return for the upcoming grass season and when asked about his record, Nadal said he has “no obsession” about matching and overtaking the Swiss superstar’s achievements.
“I never have been crazy about all this kind of stuff,” said Nadal.
“You can’t be frustrated always if somebody has more money than you, if somebody has a bigger house than you, if somebody has more grand slams than you. You have to do [it] your way.
“Because if you are looking next to you, you can be frustrated thinking that people have more things than you in general terms. I am not this kind of person. Of course I would love to have 20 like Roger in the future or even more, but being honest, is something that is not in my mind.
“I feel very lucky to all of the things that have happened to me. I am enjoying that moment. And that doesn’t mean that I will not keep fighting for more chances in the future, in the next tournaments.”
