“More than asking him for advice, you just need to look at Rafael Nadal a little,” says Lorenzo Sonego
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Lorenzo Sonego, ranked 33 in the ATP Rankings believed that watching Rafael Nadal go about his business on court is far more instructive than asking him for advice. Sonego spent a week at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca where he trained alongside Rafael Nadal as a part of his pre-season training.
Recently in an interview with Ubitennis, Sonego said that young players can learn a lot by just observing Nadal practice on court. “More than asking (him) for advice, you just need to look at Rafael Nadal a little,” Sonego said. “It is enough to see his attitude, understand what he trains and what he works on, to learn something. Watching what he does on the court is more important than talking to him,” he added.
During his week at the Rafa Nadal Academy, the Italian got to train along with other players including Felix-Auger Aliassime and Emil Ruusuvuori.
Rafael Nadal has an impressive pace: Sonego
Lorenzo Sonego, who took the limelight after he demolished Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals in Vienna, believes that Rafael Nadal has an impressive pace and it is not easy to cope up with him in training. “It was the first time,” the Italian said. “Rafael Nadal has an impressive pace. (You have to) get used to playing at a much higher pace. That’s why it takes a lot to train with him,” he added.
The Italian further heaped praise on the Rafa Nadal Academy, highlighting the hospitality, training arrangements and the hotel amenities. “I was struck by the tranquility that is in this place. There is a lot of serenity, you can only hear balls travelling from one side to the other. They are really well organized, very kind. They also made available to us guys from the academy as sparring partners, all very strong,” he said.
“The weather was good, so we always played outdoors. We were also guests of the academy hotel, which is very nice and where the food is fine. We found great hospitality, the Spaniards made us feel at home. We really enjoyed it,” the Italian added.
Lorenzo Sonego also confirmed in the interview that he will now train in Turin as he prepares for the Australian Open 2021. His training partner during the first week of quarantine in Melbourne will be Dusan Lajovic and the pair will combine with Salvatore Caruso and Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina in the second week.
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Nirmit Mehta
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