Rafael Nadal is happy to suffer if it allows him to become the first man to capture the same Grand Slam title eight times when he tackles Spanish compatriot David Ferrer in Sunday's French Open final.
Nadal, who won the Roland Garros crown in 2012 for the seventh time to pull clear of Bjorn Borg's six titles, goes into his 17th Grand Slam final seeking a 12th major overall.
Ferrer, 31, Nadal's senior by four years, will be playing on this stage for the first time and will be handicapped by a 19-4 losing streak against his fellow Spaniard, 16 of those losses coming on clay.
But Nadal is taking nothing for granted and is prepared for another marathon encounter after his epic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3/7), 9-7 win over world number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
"I learned during all of my career to enjoy suffering, and these kind of matches are very special. You don't have the chance to play these kind of matches every day," said Nadal.
He had twice led top seed Djokovic by a set and a break but had to come back from 4-2 down in the decider to seal a place in his eighth Paris final, extending his record to 58 wins in 59 matches at the tournament in the process.
"When these kind of matches happen you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV.
"Today I am here. So you can lose, you can win, and that's part of the sport. That's the beautiful thing."
Nadal has been the sensation of 2013, winning 42 of 44 matches and six titles since his return in February from a seven-month injury lay-off to rest his troublesome knees.
It was a low period of his life and career as he missed the Olympics as well as US and Australian Opens.
