“He would never forgive himself ..he still had something left,” Alex Corretja praises Rafael Nadal’s commitment and love for the sport
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Alex Corretja on Rafael Nadal
In a new interview with the No Tiene Nombre podcast, two-time Roland Garros finalist Alex Corretja bestowed admiration on fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal.
Alex Corretja discussed Rafael Nadal‘s remarkable mindset in the podcast No Tiente Nombre. Rafa was on the verge of quitting due to his renowned foot injury but instead went on to have the best start to a season of his career. Corretja was astounded by how the 21-time Grand Slam winner still continues to give his all even after having accomplished everything there is to accomplish in tennis.
The former World No. 2 also stated that the Mallorcan’s unmitigated love and enthusiasm for the game is the principal motivation he is still pushing so hard on the tennis court. The Spaniard stressed how Nadal no more has a financial incentive to be at his finest every day, hinting that his intrinsic desire to win is all that keeps him going.
“Rafael Nadal [keeps on fighting to be the best even after achieving everything in tennis] out of love. For the enthusiasm and passion that he feels for tennis and for the awareness of it,” Corretja said. “I think Rafa does it because he would never forgive himself for withdrawing and thinking that he still had something left. He has no financial need, has only the internal need to believe that he has something that he wants to squeeze out. That’s a commitment.” he said.
In the final of the 2022 Australian Open between former World No. 1 and current World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, wherein the 35-year-old managed to overcome after a two-set shortfall to win his 21st Grand Slam title. As a result, the World No. 4 became the first man in tennis history to attain the benchmark, surpassing Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic and becoming the undisputed figurehead in the Slam record for the first time in his career.
Corretja also addressed the legendary Australian Open final. “[The 2022 Australian Open final] is not just a tennis thing. It goes beyond that. It broke the barriers of sport,” Corretja said. “The way both Nadal and Medvedev played and managed the situation is to make us say, ‘We’re going to watch this match and we’re going to learn from what we just saw. We have to pass that skill on to our children.“
The road ahead for Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal has begun the 2022 season with an undefeated 15-0 record, sweeping all three events in which he has competed. The Spaniard won the ATP 250 Melbourne Summer Set and the Australian Open in January, followed by the ATP 500 Mexican Open in Acapulco last month.
The World No. 4 will compete in the first ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year next week in Indian Wells. The 35-year-old has thrice won the Indian Wells event, in 2007, 2009, and 2013. Spain’s raging bull is expected to put on another spectacular performance. The “King of Clay” will then resume his historical reign as the clay court season starts.
Also read: “Ukraine is grateful” Sergiy Stakhovsky thanks Novak Djokovic for his concern and support
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Shilpi Pusadkar
(106 Articles Published)