Uncle Toni opines on Rafael Nadal’s contrasting results at Grand Slams and ATP Finals after another disappointing exit in Turin
Follow Us
Rafael Nadal and his uncle Toni Nadal - FirstSportz
World No 2 Rafael Nadal is hailed as one of the best players of the sport. His performances at the major tournaments have been quite exceptional as he has 22 Grand Slam singles titles to his kitty, the most by a men’s player in the Open Era. He has had his share of successes and failures throughout the year. His uncle Toni Nadal talks about the contrasting statistics of the Spaniard player at major tournaments to Masters tournaments.
He won two singles major titles in the year and remained undefeated at the Grand Slam until his loss at the US Open. He has won the French Open for a record 14 times. But he could not fair well at the ATP Finals as his search for a title win still is in continuation. Rafael Nadal lost two of his group-stage matches. But he defeated Casper Ruud in the final group stage match which came as a saving grace.
Toni Nadal revealed that the chances to win a Grand Slam become easier if the player makes it through the initial stages of the competition with improving in each game. He admitted that during the Year-end championship, there are fewer chances for a player to make errors which is why his nephew hasn’t had much success.
“When you play a Grand Slam tournament it’s not the same problem as at the Masters since you’ve already played a few matches. If you succeed in the first week, you can win the tournament in the second. But it’s not the same here, because you already meet one of the best in the world in the first game. It then becomes too difficult. At the Australian Open, for example, Rafa didn’t play well in the first match, not well in the second either, the same in the third, but after that, it got better and better,” said Toni Nadal during an interview.
Rafael Nadal hopes to make a competitive start in 2023
The Mallorcan didn’t have the desired end to the year as he failed to book his place in the Final Four at the ATP Finals. He lost two out of three group-stage matches with the saving grace being the win against Casper Ruud. He will be playing a few exhibition matches in South America to improve his game and maintain his momentum to carry forward to the next year.
Rafael Nadal seemed happy and contended with his performances throughout the year. He claimed of having no complaints since it has been an incredible year for him with age being one of the factors that are not in his favor. He stated that he hopes to make a strong start to his 2023 campaign by being able to defend his title at the Australian Open.
He also claimed that if everything goes as planned, he will arrive early in Australia to get acclimatize to the conditions better. Apart from his achievements on the professional front, he unlocked a new achievement by becoming the first-ever tennis player to cross 17 million Instagram followers. He surpassed Novak Djokovic with 11.6 million followers and Roger Federer with 10.9 million Instagram followers.
Stay Updated!
Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)