"Playing against Rafael Nadal was one of the best experiences on court for me"- Emil Ruusuvuori

Emil Ruusuvuori has revealed that playing against Rafael Nadal was one of his best experiences on a tennis court. The Finn made it to the semifinals of the Melbourne Summer Set 1 by defeating Sebastian Baez, Jordan Thompson and Alex Molcan. In the final four, Ruusuvuori was beaten by the current World No. 6 Nadal, who triumphed 6-4, 7-5.

Despite suffering defeat, Ruusuvuori said that facing the King of Clay was a memorable experience. Speaking after the tournament, the 22-year-old said:

"Well, it was, first of all, one of the best experiences on court for me. I mean, on one of the biggest courts against one of the best players ever. For sure there were some nerves before the match, and it looked like he had some, too. The first few games weren't the best. But it was a good match overall."

"I thought for a while I did good things, some things for sure. It's improving; that's also a good thing. But the main thing is it was a very, very cool experience," he added.

Nadal eventually went on to win the Melbourne Summer Set by defeating American qualifier Maxime Cressy 7-6 (6), 6-3 in the final. The Spaniard went the entire tournament without dropping a single set.

Rafael Nadal will look to impress in the Australian Open

Rafael Nadal began 2022 with a win at the Melbourne Summer Set

Rafael Nadal enjoyed a decent run of form in 2021, winning the Barcelona Open and the Rome Masters. After the Citi Open, the 35-year-old withdrew from the National Bank Open and the Cincinnati Masters. He went on to skip the remainder of the season because of a foot injury that he sustained at the French Open.

The Spaniard returned to action in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship but lost in the semifinals to Andy Murray. He eventually finished fourth in the competition after losing to Denis Shapovalov in the third-place playoff.

Nadal started 2022 well by winning the Melbourne Summer Set. Next up for the King of Clay is the Australian Open. The Spaniard will be among the favorites for the Asia-Pacific Grand Slam. He has won the Australian Open only once, back in 2009, and has reached four finals since then. Nadal is chasing a 21st Slam title which would give him the lead over Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the overall Slam race.

If Djokovic is unable to participate in the Australian Open later this month, Nadal's chances of winning will be given a massive boost.