Former Spanish doubles player reveals the extent of Rafael Nadal’s lesser-known addiction and love for video games

Former Spanish doubles player reveals the extent of Rafael Nadal’s lesser-known addiction and love for video games

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal, the former world number one has had a great year winning two Grand Slam titles at the start of the year. He took his lead to 22 singles major titles, the most by any men’s player in the Open era. But hasn’t had much success in the second half of the year due to his injuries and lack of form.

David Marrero, the former 5th-ranked doubles player from Spain, revealed one of the lesser-known facts about the Mallorcan. He recalled one of the instances from the year 2014 when Nadal had arrived late from the US Open at the Davis Cup.

The former doubles Spanish player disclosed the 22-time major champion’s love and addiction to playing video games. Marrero said, “He arrived late from the US Open, took a nap for a few hours with blankets up to his neck, then got up and the first thing he did was grab a PlayStation controller to play FIFA with teammates.“

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Rafael Nadal is hopeful to make his return at Paris Masters and will be looking for his first title in Paris

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal

The record 14-time French Open champion appeared at all the major tournaments of the year but faced his first defeat of the year at the Grand Slam at the US Open after he lost to Frances Tiafoe. It ended his 20-match winning streak at the major events. It was also his earliest defeat at the major since Wimbledon in 2017.

Rafael Nadal last played at the Laver Cup in Roger Federer‘s farewell doubles match where they lost their doubles match to Team Europe’s players. But he withdrew after the match citing personal reasons especially to be with his wife who had been dealing with a complicated pregnancy. He had even expressed being unsure about his schedule post his shocking exit at the US Open.

There were speculations regarding his participation in the rest of the tournaments of the year. But he is back on the court and has started practicing well at his Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain. He hints at his possible comeback at the Paris Masters and will be aiming for his first ATP title in Paris. He has also been qualified for the year-end championships in Turin.

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