Paul Annacone made an interesting observation about Rafael Nadal’s career as Roger Federer’s former coach thinks the 38-year-old’s humility was his “downside” but at the same time his “biggest asset.”
Right from the start of his career, the Spaniard started achieving major success, with the most impressive accomplishment being winning the French Open in each of his first four appearances. After struggling on grass early in his career, he also figured that out in 2008 after beating Federer in an epic final to prevent the Swiss from winning his sixth consecutive title at The Championships.
But although Nadal was winning Grand Slams for 17 years being and labeled as the King of Clay very early in his career, he was never the one to brag or be arrogant. Instead, he always kept a humble attitude and made sure to be as respectful as possible to any opponent.
And on Tuesday, the Spanish tennis icon’s career came to an end with 22 Majors in his collection, two Olympic gold medals, four Davis Cup titles, and 209 weeks spent at the world No. 1 spot. Also, there is that famous record of 14 French Open titles.
Now, Annacone – who worked with Federer for three years between 2010 and 2013 – admits he was surprised that the 38-year-old never had an ego. If he had, the coach believes the Spaniard would have been crushing the ball harder and more dominantly winning some of his matches.
“Rafa’s only downside was also his biggest asset. His only downside was his humility and that’s also his biggest asset. There are times where I would look at him and wonder how he didn’t actually have a bigger ego. He was always so gracious and so humble about what he’s doing that sometimes that hindered his ability to step on a court and just crush the ball,” Annacone said on Tennis Channel’s Inside-In podcast.
“And when Rafa was vulnerable, he didn’t crush the ball and we saw that yesterday because he hasn’t played and it’s on his worst surface, his ball gets very spinny and it sits up. But because of that humility, he didn’t just walk on that court and star ripping balls everywhere.
“He felt like every match he had to be at the top of his game, he was vulnerable and because of that he sometimes played a little bit tentatively until he got the match reps in and then when he did that, he played more aggressive. But again the biggest liability, if he even had one, his humility and if you swap that for how gracious that is and what an asset that is, I’ll take that balance.”
Rafael Nadal© Tenis Espana/Instagram – Fair Use
Nadal delivered two humble messages on his final day
On Tuesday – the day of the Spain and Netherlands tie – it was officially confirmed that the 22-time Grand Slam champion would play singles. But instead of it being a big day, it was tough to watch at times as the former world No. 1 was far from his best and Botic van de Zandschulp took advantage of it to complete a 6-4 6-4 win.
Following the loss, Nadal was the first to admit that he didn’t play well and said he would tell captain David Ferrer not to select him for singles if Spain made it past Netherlands.
Since Spain ended up losing via the deciding doubles rubber, Ferrer didn’t have to make that decision since Nadal’s career ended.
And when giving his retirement speech, the record 14-time French Open winner didn’t want to brag or anything like that about his achievements. Instead, he wanted fans to know that he was “a kid from a small village” who was dreaming of becoming a tennis pro one day.
Rafael Nadal© Tenis Espana/Instagram – Fair Use
“The title, the numbers are there, so the people probably know that. I would like to be remembered as a good person from a small village in Majorca. I had the luck. My uncle was a tennis coach in my village when I was a small kid, and I had a great family that supported me in every single moment. Just a kid who followed their dream and worked as hard as possible to be what I am today,” a teary Nadal said.
“At the end of the day, a lot of people work hard and try their best every single day, but I’m one of the very lucky ones that life gave me an opportunity to live an unforgettable experience due to tennis. So, I just want to be remembered as a good person, a kid who followed their dreams and achieved more than they dreamed.”