Rafael Nadal’s former coach Toni Nadal assured this Friday that he believes in the return of the Spanish tennis player, who has recovered from an injury to his right leg, to training without limits in December and that Joo Sousa will return to good form. .
,[Nadal recuperado para o Open da Austrália?] Sure! I want to think that it will be fine. He’s training a little more every day and I believe that, this December, he can go back to full training and everything goes well”, the uncle of the 20 Grand Slam title holder commented on the sidelines of the Vanguard Stars Masters. of 2021.
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Speaking to dozens of young tennis players who have qualified for the circuit’s finals, Toni Nadal shares some of the principles and values Rafael Nadal has from his training to date, including his “good education, intensity, training and improvisation.” desire” was highlighted. Knows to listen and obey”.
“I usually say to my authority that he won a lot of points, but by his character he won a lot of matches. I was a very tough and tough coach for Rafa. The life of a highly competitive player is very tough and I tried, in a simple way, to prepare it for him. And I did it by strengthening his character”, a determined trait he wanted to “work harder than everyone else and learn to succeed”. With emphasis.
In addition to admitting that he never thought his nephew, the former world number one and currently ranked sixth, “would be able to win 20 Grand Slam tournaments”, although he also said “a good player and one or two”. major’ was presumed to win”, current coach Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassim has always argued that “talent is rarely decisive.”
“It’s the desire to improve that makes the difference,” he said, pointing to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as examples.
The Spaniard admitted that the injuries were “always the most difficult moment” in Manacor’s career on the left leg.
“When Rafa was hurt [no pé esquerdo em 2004]There were tough moments, because we didn’t know whether we could continue or not. Then it was one or the other defeat at Roland Garroso [Robin Soderling em 2009]Australian Open and Wimbledon. But these were, above all, injuries”, he insisted.
Regarding Portuguese Joo Sousa, who had a less happy season and left the top-100 world, Toni Nadal admitted that he did not know “whether he would return to his best when he was 26 or 27”. “, but still defends that he still has conditions and time to return to good performances and victories, given his 32 years.
“He was a high-intensity player, sometimes his nerves would get to him and he would get frustrated at crucial moments. He was a man who was capable of doing great things, but they didn’t last long in tennis. It’s a tough job to do. He was a great player and that may be clear again. He had to compete [Novak] Djokovic, [Andy] died, [David] It’s not easy being Ferrer and better than him. In the end, the differences are minor, but here and there a little bit makes a big difference,” he recalled.
