Toni Nadal and Carlos Moya shaped Rafael Nadal’s glorious career.
Moya, the late coach of the legendary 22-time Grand Slam winner, told how he realized early on that Rafa was destined for the top spot, in a special released by the ATP.
“When young Rafa started to have his first successes, his parents made sure he kept his feet on the ground. Family and humility were important. The taste of winning fades. At first Rafa played both shots with two hands, then he realized that it was more natural for him to hold the racket with his left hand. His family and a group of trusted confidants became Team Nadal, always on the sidelines, united in supporting him. Rafa had honed his talent for success, and he was ready to show it to the world,” he said.
“As I am also Mallorcan, I saw Rafa play for the first time when he was eight years old. He was already special then, he hit every ball hard, as if his life depended on it. After that we trained together three times a week. He was a teenager but his intensity in training motivated me in my ascent to the position of world number 1. I was amazed at how quickly he burned through the stages at the various levels of professional tennis,” he added.
Rafael Nadal© Tenis Espana/Instagram – Fair Use
Twelve days have passed since the last official match of Nadal’s career. The 22-time Grand Slam champion said goodbye to tennis by playing the first match of the day in singles in the challenge valid for access to the semi-finals of the Davis Cup lost by Spain against the Netherlands. He was unable to close as he deserved, because during the match with Botic van de Zandschulp he appeared clearly in difficulty from a physical point of view.
The defeat in no way erases the greatness of a legend of his caliber. There was also a lot of talk about the ceremony organized in Malaga; a farewell ceremony that did not please many fans and others.
Tennis World USA