“He took six months off and won the Australian Open while I took six months of rest and lost in the first round of the US Open”: John McEnroe on Rafael Nadal’s greatness
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Rafael Nadal and John McEnroe
World no. 3 Rafael Nadal, winner of 22 Grand Slam tournaments, is the current slam leader. Arch rival Novak Djokovic, who has 21 major titles, and Roger Federer, who has 20 major titles, are close behind. With 20 major titles when the year began, Nadal is now in the driver’s seat after victories in Australia and Paris. If an abdominal rupture hadn’t forced him out of Wimbledon’s semi-final match, he may have finished the year with three major titles. This year in Grand Slam competitions, the Spaniard is 19-0.
Nadal had a career-best start to the season after making his comeback to competition at the beginning of the year, but a stress fracture in his rib caused him to start his match against Clay later than planned. His comeback wasn’t the greatest because he sustained a foot injury before the 2022 French Open and had to play the Grand Slam while receiving injections. He eventually won his 14th championship in Paris.
Also read: Dominic Thiem’s participation in the US Open takes a hit as he does not make the entry list
John McEnroe speaks on juggling parenting with tennis and praises Rafael Nadal
In the recently released documentary, McEnroe, former world no. 1 and 7-time slam champion John McEnroe reflected on the birth of his first child when he was 27 years old and was at the top of his game. He also drew parallels with Rafael Nadal on winning after resting extensively.
“It should be everyone’s greatest goal to be a good parent. If you are a parent, if you decide to give birth to children, even when I was 27, I had my first son, I felt like: Did I still want to be the best player in the world? Yes, would I have to be and want to improve? Well, I took a leave to improve, you know, Rafael Nadal took six months off and won the Australian Open. I took six months of rest and lost in the first round of the US Open. This is the only year I lost the first round.“
“I wasn’t even ready to come back. But that said, you know, I had two children, one to 27 years old and one to 28 years old. What am I supposed to do? ‘Take to my wife ‘Oh, ok, take care of the children, I have to go and take care of this situation with my clas?’ No, no, I was trying to do both to the best of my capabilities. But the first priority for me should be my children, you know, or not have them,” he said.
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