Rafael Nadal hailed as “perfect example” by Mats Wilander as Spaniard announced retirement from tennis

Mats Wilander praised Rafael Nadal for his ability to live in the present and for being the perfect example of a champion.

Rafael Nadal hailed as “perfect example” by Mats Wilander as Spaniard announced retirement from tennis

Rafael Nadal, Mats Wilander (Images via Imago)

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal announced his retirement from tennis on October 10. The 22-time Grand Slam champion said that he will play for Spain in the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga and will then hang up his racket.

With a legend of the game calling it quits, experts looked back on Nadal’s career. Mats Wilander hailed the Spaniard for being the perfect example of a champion. The former Swedish ace claimed that Nadal was a champion from the start to the end of his career.

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If you love sport for the values that champions convey, Rafa was the perfect example. And he was from the beginning to the end of his immense career. At the same time, he seemed vulnerable, which I find fabulous. He was literally connected to his challenge of the day.

Mats Wilander said (via welovetennis)

Further talking about Nadal’s mentality, Wilander claimed that the Spaniard lived in the present and his aggression was directed at himself.

His “Vamos!” were not directed at his box or at his opponent, but at himself. It was as if he was thanking destiny for having allowed him to live these moments on the court. He was not interested in what had just happened, or what was going to happen, he was always in the present.

Mats Wilander added

Wilander claimed that Nadal’s passion and fighting spirit get overlooked sometimes. The tennis expert cited his recent match against Novak Djokovic at the Paris Olympics as an example and claimed that the Spaniard was trying as hard as he could.

Mats Wilander feels Rafael Nadal was an overachiever

Reviewing Rafael Nadal‘s career, Mats Wilander claimed that the Spaniard overachieved considering the injuries he had. The 60-year-old said that Nadal did not have the best technique, like his rival Roger Federer but still, he managed to win so much which puts him in the category of overachievers.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Image via X)

Rafa, you could talk about overachievers. To me, he overachieved a little bit with all the injuries that he had. He’s unbelievably talented, of course, in terms of feel and understanding of the game. But in terms of technique, maybe someone like Roger Federer is more talented and, therefore, maybe, should have done better in terms of results.

Mats Wilander said (via Eurosport)

Wilander admitted that Nadal retirement news came as a shocker even though everyone had anticipated it. But the Swedish expert is happy that the 22-time Grand Slam champion chose Davis Cup as his last tournament because it “is so close to Rafa’s heart.”

Notably, Nadal has enjoyed great success at the event. After losing his first-ever singles match (against Jiri Novak), he has gone undefeated for 20 years and he still has time to add to his extraordinary record of 37 wins and five losses (29-1 in singles and 8-4 in doubles). Spain face the Netherlands in the quarterfinals on November 19.